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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

BRUCE  PORTER  COLLECTION 
Gift  of  Mrs.  Robert  Bruce  Porter 


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WESTWARD    HO! 


DUX  FCEMINA  FACTI." 

Motto  of  the  Armada  Medals,  1588. 


"V/ 


'^:^yr-6^  (dyuy^^^^^^^ 


LoruLoru  Macrn^Ua,^'  &€"  1S'S2. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.   I. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  "White  Bird  .        1 
II.  How  Amyas  came  Home  the  First  Time     .      29 

III.  Of  two  Gentlemen    of   "Wales,    and    how 

they  hunted  with  the  Hounds,  and  yet 

RAN  WITH  THE  DeER 77 

IV.  The  two  "Ways  of  being  crost  in  Love      .     104 
V.  Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time    .        .141 

"VI.  The  Coombes  of  the  Far  "West    .        .        .180 
VII.  The   true  and   tragical    History   of   Mr. 

John  Oxenham  of  Plymouth    .        .        .193 

VIII.  How  THE  Noble  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose 

WAS  Founded 256 

IX.  How  Amyas  kept  his  Christmas  Day  .        .     282 

X.  How  the  Mayor  of  Bideford  baited  his 

Hook  with  his  own  Flesh        .        .        .334 

XI..  How  Eustace  Leigh  met  the  Pope's  Legate    351 

XII.  How  Bideford    Bridge    dined  at   Annery 

House 377 

XIII.  How  THE  Golden  Hind  came  Home  again  .     417 

XIV.  How  Salvation  Yeo  slew  the  King  of  the 

Gubbings 431 

XV.  How  Mr.  John  Brimblecombe  understood 

the  Nature  of  an  Oath  ....     468 


WESTWAED   HO! 

CHAPTEK  I. 

HOW  MR.  OXENHAM  SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD. 

"  The  hollow  oak  our  palace  is, 
Our  heritage  the  sea." 

All  who  have  travelled  through  the  delicious  scenery 
of  North  Devon  must  needs  know  the  little  white 
town  of  Bideford,  which  slopes  upwards  from  its 
broad  tide-river  paved  with  yellow  sands,  and  many- 
arched  old  bridge  where  salmon  wait  for  Autumn 
floods,  toward  the  pleasant  upland  on  the  west. 
Above  the  town  the  hills  close  in,  cushioned  with 
deep  oak  woods,  through  which  juts  here  and  there  a 
crag  of  fern-fringed  slate ;  below  they  lower,  and  open 
more  and  more  in  softly-rounded  knolls,  and  fertile 
squares  of  red  and  green,  till  they  sink  into  the  wide 
expanse  of  hazy  flats,  rich  salt  marshes,  and  rolling 
sand  hills,  where  Torridge  joins  her  sister  Taw,  and 
both  together  flow  quietly  toward  the  broad  surges 
of  the  bar,  and  the  everlasting  thunder  of  the  long 
Atlantic  swell.  Pleasantly  the  old  town  stands  there, 
beneath  its  soft  Italian  sky,  fanned  day  and  night  by 
VOL.  I.  B  w.  H. 


/ 


2  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

the  fresh  ocean  breeze,  which  forbids  ahke  the  keen 
winter  frosts,  and  the  fierce  thunder  heats  of  the 
midland ;  and  pleasantly  it  has  stood  there  for  now, 
perhaps,  eight  hundred  years  since  the  first  Grenvil, 
cousin  of  the  Conqueror,  returning  from  the  conquest 
of  South  Wales,  drew  round  him  trusty  Saxon  serfs, 
and  free  Norse  rovers  with  their  golden  curls,  and 
dark  Silurian  Britons  from  the  Swansea  shore,  and 
all  the  mingled  blood  which  still  gives  to  the  seaward 
folk  of  the  next  county  their  strength  and  intellect, 
and,  even  in  these  levelling  days,  their  peculiar  beauty 
of  face  and  form. 

But  at  the  time  whereof  I  write,  Bideford  was  not 
merely  a  pleasant  country  town,  whose  quay  was 
haunted  by  a  few  coasting  craft.  It  was  one  of  the 
chief  ports  of  England;  it  furnished  seven  ships  to 
fight  the  Armada:  even  more  than  a  century  after- 
wards, say  the  chroniclers,  "it  sent  more  vessels  to 
the  northern  trade,  than  any  port  in  England,  saving 
(strange  juxtaposition !)  London  and  Topsham,"  and 
was  the  centre  of  a  local  civilisation  and  enterprise, 
small  perhaps  compared  with  the  vast  efforts  of  the 
present  day :  but  who  dare  despise  the  day  of  small 
things,  if  it  has  proved  to  be  the  dawn  of  mighty 
ones  1  And  it  is  to  the  sea-life  and  labour  of  Bide- 
ford, and  Dartmouth,  and  Topsham,  and  Plymouth 
(then  a  petty  place),  and  many  another  little  western 
town,  that  England  owes  the  foundation  of  her  naval 
and  commercial  glory.  It  was  the  men  of  Devon, 
the  Drakes  and  Hawkins',  Gilberts  and  Ealeighs, 
Grenviles  and  Oxenhams,  and  a  host  more  of  "for- 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  3 

gotten  worthies,"  whom  we  shall  learn  one  day  to 
honour  as  they  deserve,  to  whom  she  owes  her  com- 
merce, her  colonies,  her  very  existence.  For  had 
they  not  first  crippled,  by  their  West  Indian  raids, 
the  ill-gotten  resources  of  the  Spaniard,  and  then 
crushed  his  last  huge  effort  in  Britain's  Salamis,  the 
glorious  fight  of  1588,  what  had  we  been  by  now,  but 
a  Popish  appanage  of  a  world-tyranny  as  cruel  as 
heathen  Rome  itself,  and  far  more  devilish  ? 

It  is  in  memory  of  these  men,  their  voyages  and 
their  battles,  their  faith  and  their  valour,  their  heroic 
lives  and  no  less  heroic  deaths,  that  I  write  this  book; 
and  if  now  and  then  I  shall  seem  to  warm  into  a  style 
somewhat  too  stilted  and  pompous,  let  me  be  excused 
for  my  subject's  sake,  fit  rather  to  have  been  sung 
than  said,  and  to  have  proclaimed  to  all  true  English 
hearts,  not  as  a  novel  but  as  an  epic  (which  some  man 
may  yet  gird  himself  to  write),  the  same  great  message 
which  the  songs  of  Troy,  and  the  Persian  wars,  and 
the  trophies  of  Marathon  and  Salamis,  spoke  to  the 
hearts  of  all  true  Greeks  of  old. 

One  bright  summer's  afternoon,  in  the  year  of 
grace  1575,  a  tall  and  fair  boy  came  lingering  along 
Bideford  quay,  in  his  scholar's  gown,  with  satchel  and 
slate  in  hand,  watching  wistfully  the  shipping  and  the 
sailors,  till,  just  after  he  had  passed  the  bottom  of 
the  High  Street,  he  came  opposite  to  one  of  the  many 
taverns  which  looked  out  upon  the  river.  In  the 
open  bay-window  sat  merchants  and  gentlemen,  dis- 
coursing over  their  afternoon's  draught  of  sack ;  and 


4  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

outside  the  door  was  gathered  a  group  of  sailors, 
listening  earnestly  to  some  one  who  stood  in  the 
midst.  The  boy,  all  alive  for  any  sea-news,  must 
needs  go  up  to  them,  and  take  his  place  among  the 
sailor-lads  who  were  peeping  and  whispering  under 
the  elbows  of  the  men ;  and  so  came  in  for  the  follow- 
ing speech,  delivered  in  a  loud  bold  voice,  with  a 
strong  Devonshire  accent,  and  a  fair  sprinkling  of 
oaths. 

"  If  you  don't  believe  me,  go  and  see,  or  stay  here 
and  grow  all  over  blue  mould.  I  tell  you,  as  I  am  a 
gentleman,  I  saw  it  with  these  eyes,  and  so  did  Salva- 
tion Yeo  there,  through  a  window  in  the  lower  room ; 
and  we  measured  the  heap,  as  I  am  a  Christened  man, 
seventy  foot  long,  ten  foot  broad,  and  twelve  foot 
high,  of  silver  bars,  and  each  bar  between  a  thirty 
and  forty  pound  weight.  And  says  Captain  Drake  : 
'There,  my  lads  of  Devon,  I've  brought  you  to  the 
mouth  of  the  world's  treasure-house,  and  it's  your 
own  fault  now,  if  you  don't  sweep  it  out  as  empty  as 
a  stock-fish.'" 

"  Why  didn't  you  bring  some  of  they  home,  then, 
Mr.  Oxenhamf 

"  Why  weren't  you  there  to  help  to  carrj^  them  1 
We  would  have  brought  'em  away,  safe  enough,  and 
young  Drake  and  I  had  broke  the  door  abroad  already, 
but  Captain  Drake  goes  off  in  a  dead  faint ;  and  when 
we  came  to  look,  he  had  a  wound  in  his  leg  you  might 
have  laid  three  fingers  in,  and  his  boots  were  full  of 
blood,  and  had  been  for  an  hour  or  more;  but  the 
heart  of  him  was  that,  that  he  never  knew  it  till  he 


p 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  5 

dropped,  and  then  his  brother  and  I  got  him  away  to 
the  boats,  he  kicking  and  struggling,  and  bidding  us 
let  him  go  on  with  the  fight,  though  every  step  he 
took  in  the  sand  was  in  a  pool  of  blood ;  and  so  we 
got  off.  And  tell  me,  ye  sons  of  shotten  herrings, 
wasn't  it  worth  more  to  save  him  than  the  dirty 
silver  'i  for  silver  we  can  get  again,  brave  boys  :  there's 
more  fish  in  the  sea  than  ever  came  out  of  it,  and 
more  silver  in  Nombre  de  Dios  than  would  pave  all 
the  streets  in  the  west  country :  but  of  such  captains 
as  Franky  Drake,  heaven  never  makes  but  one  at  a 
time ;  and  if  we  lose  him,  good-bye  to  England's  luck, 
say  I,  and  who  don't  agree,  let  him  choose  his  weapons, 
and  I'm  his  man." 

He  who  delivered  this  harangue  was  a  tall  and 
sturdy  personage,  with  a  florid  black-bearded  face, 
and  bold  restless  dark  eyes,  who  leaned,  with  crossed 
legs  and  arms  akimbo,  against  the  wall  of  the  house ; 
and  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  the  school-boy  a  very  mag- 
nifico,  some  prince  or  duke  at  least.  He  was  dressed 
(contrary  to  all  sumptuary  laws  of  the  time)  in  a  suit 
of  crimson  velvet,  a  little  the  worse,  perhaps,  for  wear ; 
by  his  side  were  a  long  Spanish  rapier  and  a  brace  of 
daggers,  gaudy  enough  about  the  hilts;  his  fingers 
sparkled  with  rings  ;  he  had  two  or  three  gold  chains 
about  his  neck,  and  large  earrings  in  his  ears,  behind 
one  of  which  a  red  rose  was  stuck  jauntily  enough 
among  the  glossy  black  curls ;  on  his  head  was  a  broad 
velvet  Spanish  hat,  in  which  instead  of  a  feather  was 
fastened  with  a  great  gold  clasp  a  whole  Quezal  bird, 
whose  gorgeous  plumage  of  fretted  golden  green  shone 


6  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

like  one  entire  precious  stone.  As  he  finished  his 
speech,  he  took  off  the  said  hat,  and  looking  at  the 
bird  in  it — 

"  Look  ye,  my  lads,  did  you  ever  see  such  a  fowl 
as  that  before  1  That's  the  bird  which  the  old  Indian 
kings  of  Mexico  let  no  one  wear  but  their  own  selves ; 
and  therefore  I  wear  it, — I,  John  Oxenham  of  South 
Tawton,  for  a  sign  to  all  brave  lads  of  Devon,  that  as 
the  Spaniards  are  the  masters  of  the  Indians,  we're 
the  masters  of  the  Spaniards:"  and  he  replaced  his 
hat. 

A  murmur  of  applause  followed  :  but  one  hinted 
that  he  "doubted  the  Spaniards  were  too  many  for 
them." 

"  Too  many  1  Hoav  many  men  did  we  take  Nombre 
de  Dios  with  1  Seventy-three  were  we,  and  no  more 
when  we  sailed  out  of  Plymouth  Sound ;  and  before 
we  saw  the  Spanish  main,  half  were  'gastados,'  used 
up,  as  the  Dons  say,  with  the  scurvy;  and  in  Port 
Pheasant  Captain  Rawse  of  Cowes  fell  in  with  us,  and 
that  gave  us  some  thirty  hands  more ;  and  with  that 
handful,  my  lads,  only  fifty-three  in  all,  we  picked  the 
lock  of  the  new  world  !  And  whom  did  we  lose  but 
our  trumpeter,  who  stood  braying  like  an  ass  in  the 
middle  of  the  square,  instead  of  taking  care  of  his 
neck  like  a  Christian  1  I  tell  you,  those  Spaniards  are 
rank  cowards,  as  all  bullies  are.  They  pray  to  a 
woman,  the  idolatrous  rascals !  and  no  wonder  they 
fight  like  women." 

"You'm  right.  Captain,"  sang  out  a  tall  gaunt 
fellow  who  stood  close  to  him ;  "  one  westcountryman 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  7 

can  fight  two  easterlings,  and  an  easterling  can  beat 
three  Dons  any  day.     Eh  !  my  lads  of  Devon  1 

'*  For  0  !  it's  the  herrings  and  the  good  brown  beef, 
And  the  cider  and  the  cream  so  white  ; 
0  !  they  are  the  making  of  the  jolly  Devon  lads, 
For  to  play,  and  eke  to  fight. " 

"Come,"  said  Oxenham,  "come  along!  Who 
lists  ?  who  lists  1  who'll  make  his  fortune  1 

"  Oh,  who  will  join,  jolly  mariners  all  ? 
And  who  will  join,  says  he,  0  ! 
To  fill  his  pockets  with  the  good  red  goold, 
By  sailing  on  the  sea,  0  !" 

"  Who'll  list  f  cried  the  gaunt  man  again ;  "  now's 
your  time  !  We've  got  forty  men  to  Plymouth  now, 
ready  to  sail  the  minute  we  get  back,  and  we  want  a 
dozen  out  of  you  Bideford  men,  and  just  a  boy  or  two, 
and  then  we'm  off  and  away,  and  make  our  fortunes, 
or  go  to  heaven. 

**  Our  bodies  in  the  sea  so  deep. 
Our  souls  in  heaven  to  rest ! 
Where  valiant  seamen,  one  and  all, 
Hereafter  shall  be  blest !" 

"Now,"  said  Oxenham,  "you  won't  let  the  Ply- 
mouth men  say  that  the  Bideford  men  daren't  follow 
them?  North  Devon  against  South,  it  is.  Who'll 
join  1  who'll  join  1  It  is  but  a  step  of  a  way,  after  all, 
and  sailing  as  smooth  as  a  duck-pond  as  soon  as  you're 
past  Cape  Finisterre.  I'll  run  a  Clovelly  herring-boat 
there  and  back  for  a  wager  of  twenty  pound,  and 
never  ship  a  bucketful  all  the  way.  Who'll  join'? 
Don't  think  you're  buying  a  pig  in  a  poke.  I  know 
the  road,  and  Salvation  Yeo,  here,  too,  who  was  the 


8  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

gunner's  mate,  as  well  as  I  do  the  narrow  seas,  and 
better.  You  ask  him  to  show  you  the  chart  of  it, 
now,  and  see  if  he  don't  tell  you  over  the  ruttier  as 
well  as  Drake  himself." 

On  which  the  gaunt  man  pulled  from  under  his 
arm  a  great  white  buffalo  horn  covered  with  rough 
etchings  of  land  and  sea,  and  held  it  up  to  the  admir- 
ing ring. 

"  See  here,  boys  all,  and  behold  the  pictur  of  the 
place,  dra'ed  out  so  natural  as  ever  was  life.  I  got 
mun  from  a  Portingal,  down  to  the  Azores ;  and  he'd 
pricked  mun  out,  and  pricked  mun  out,  wheresoever 
he'd  sailed,  and  whatsoever  he'd  seen.  Take  mun  in 
your  hands  now,  Simon  Evans,  take  mun  in  youi* 
hands ;  look  mun  over,  and  I'll  warrant  you'll  know 
the  way  in  five  minutes  so  well  as  ever  a  shark  in  the 
seas." 

And  the  horn  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand; 
while  Oxenham,  who  saw  that  his  hearers  were  be- 
coming moved,  called  through  the  open  window  for  a 
great  tankard  of  sack,  and  passed  that  from  hand  to 
hand,  after  the  horn. 

The  school-boy,  who  had  been  devouring  with  eyes 
and  ears  all  which  passed,  and  had  contrived  by  this 
time  to  edge  himself  into  the  inner  ring,  now  stood 
face  to  face  with  the  hero  of  the  emerald  crest,  and 
got  as  many  peeps  as  he  could  at  the  wonder.  But 
when  he  saw  the  sailors,  one  after  another,  having 
turned  it  over  a  while,  come  forward  and  offer  to  join 
Mr.  Oxenham,  his  soul  burned  within  him  for  a  nearer 
view  of  that  wondrous  horn,  as  magical  in  its  effects 


) 


SAW  THE  AVHITE  BIKD.  9 

as  that  of  Tristrem,  or  the  enchanter's  in  Ariosto; 
and  when  the  group  had  somewhat  broken  up,  and 
Oxenham  was  going  into  the  tavern  with  his  recruits, 
he  asked  boldly  for  a  nearer  sight  of  the  marvel,  which 
was  granted  at  once. 

And  now  to  his  astonished  gaze  displayed  them- 
selves cities  and  harbours,  dragons  and  elephants, 
whales  which  fought  with  sharks,  plate  ships  of  Spain, 
islands  with  apes  and  palm-trees,  each  with  its  name 
over-written,  and  here  and  there,  "Here  is  gold;" 
and  again,  "Much  gold  and  silver;"  inserted  most 
probably,  as  the  words  were  in  English,  by  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Oxenham  himself.  Lingeringly  and  longingly 
the  boy  turned  it  round  and  round,  and  thought  the 
owner  of  it  more  fortunate  than  Khan  or  Kaiser.  Oh, 
if  he  could  but  possess  that  horn,  what  needed  he  on 
earth  beside  to  make  him  blest ! 

"I  say,  will  you  sell  this?" 

"Yea,  marry,  or  my  own  soul,  if  I  can  get  the 
worth  of  it." 

"I  want  the  horn, — I  don't  want  your  soul;  it's 
somewhat  of  a  stale  sole,  for  aught  I  know ;  and  there 
are  plenty  of  fresh  ones  in  the  bay." 

And  therewith,  after  much  fumbling,  he  pulled  out 
a  tester  (the  only  one  he  had),  and  asked  if  that  would 
buy  it  ? 

"That !  no,  nor  twenty  of  them." 

The  boy  thought  over  what  a  good  knight-errant 
would  do  in  such  case,  and  then  answered,  "  Tell  you 
what :  I'll  fight  you  for  it." 

"Thank'ee,  sir!" 


10  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

"Break  the  jacknapes's  head  for  him,  Yeo,"  said 
Oxenham. 

"Call  me  jackanapes  again,  and  I  break  youi's,  sir." 
And  the  boy  lifted  his  fist  fiercely. 

Oxenham  looked  at  him  a  minute  smilingly. 
"  Tut !  tut !  my  man,  hit  one  of  your  own  size,  if 
you  will,  and  spare  little  folk  like  me  ! " 

"If  I  have  a  boy's  age,  sir,  I  have  a  man's  fist. 
I  shall  be  fifteen  years  old  this  month,  and  know  how 
to  answer  any  one  who  insults  me." 

"Fifteen,  my  young  cockerel?  you  look  liker 
twenty,"  said  Oxenham,  with  an  admiring  glance  at 
the  lad's  broad  limbs,  keen  blue  eyes,  curling  golden 
locks,  and  round  honest  face.  "Fifteen?  If  I  had 
half-a-dozen  such  lads  as  you,  I  would  make  knights  of 
them  before  I  died.     Eh,  Yeo  1" 

"He'll  do,"  said  Yeo;  "he  will  make  a  brave 
gamecock  in  a  year  or  two,  if  he  dares  ruffle  up  so 
early  at  a  tough  old  hen-master  like  the  Captain." 

At  which  there  was  a  general  laugh,  in  which 
Oxenham  joined  as  loudly  as  any,  and  then  bade  the 
lad  tell  him  why  he  was  so  keen  after  the  horn. 

"Because,"  said  he,  looking  up  boldly,  "I  want  to 
go  to  sea.  I  want  to  see  the  Indies.  I  want  to  fight 
the  Spaniards.  Though  I  am  a  gentleman's  son,  I'd 
a  deal  liever  be  a  cabin-boy  on  board  your  ship." 
And  the  lad  having  hurried  out  his  say  fiercely  enough, 
dropped  his  head  again. 

"And  you  shall,"  cried  Oxenham,  with  a  great 
oath ;  "  and  take  a  galleon,  and  dine  off  carbonadoed 
Dons.     Whose  son  are  you,  my  gallant  fellow?" 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  11 

"Mr.  Leigh's,  of  Burrough  Court." 

"Bless  his  soul !  I  know  him  as  well  as  I  do  the 
Eddystone,  and  his  kitchen  too.  Who  sups  with  him 
to-night  f 

"Sir  Eichard  Grenvil." 

"  Dick  Grenvil  'i  I  did  not  know  he  was  in  town. 
Go  home  and  tell  your  father  John.  Oxenham  will 
come  and  keep  him  company.  There,  off  with  you ! 
I'll  make  all  straight  with  the  good  gentleman,  and 
you  shall  have  your  venture  with  me ;  and  as  for  the 
horn,  let  him  have  the  horn,  Yeo,  and  I'll  give  you  a 
noble  for  it." 

"Not  a  penny,  noble  Captain.  If  young  master 
will  take  a  poor  mariner's  gift,  there  it  is,  for  the  sake 
of  his  love  to  the  calling,  and  Heaven  send  him  luck 
therein."  And  the  good  fellow,  with  the  impulsive 
generosity  of  a  true  sailor,  thrust  the  horn  into  the 
boy's  hands,  and  walked  away  to  escape  thanks. 

"And  now,"  quoth  Oxenham,  "my  merry  men  all, 
make  up  your  minds  what  mannered  men  you  be 
minded  to  be  before  you  take  your  bounties.  I  want 
none  of  your  rascally  lurching  longshore  vermin,  who 
get  five  pounds  out  of  this  captain,  and  ten  out  of  that, 
and  let  him  sail  without  them  after  all,  while  they  are 
stowed  away  under  women's  mufflers,  and  in  tavern 
cellars.  If  any  man  is  of  that  humour,  he  had  better 
to  cut  himself  up,  and  salt  himself  down  in  a  barrel 
for  pork,  before  he  meets  me  again ;  for  by  this  light, 
let  me  catch  him,  be  it  seven  years  hence,  and  if  I  do 
not  cut  his  throat  upon  the  streets,  it's  a  pity !  But 
if  any  man  will  be  true  brother  to  me,  true  brother  to 


12  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

him  I'll  be,  come  wreck  or  prize,  storm  or  calm,  salt 
water  or  fresh,  victuals  or  none,  share  and  fare  alike ; 
and  here's  my  hand  uj)on  it,  for  every  man  and  all ; 
and  so — 

*'  Westward  ho  !  with  a  rumbelow, 

And  hurra  for  the  Spanish  main,  0  ! " 

After  which  .oration  Mr.  Oxenham  swaggered  into 
the  tavern,  followed  by  his  new  men;  and  the  boy 
took  his  way  homewards,  nursing  his  precious  horn, 
trembling  between  hope  and  fear,  and  blushing  with 
maidenly  shame,  and  a  half-sense  of  wrong-doing  at 
having  revealed  suddenty  to  a  stranger  the  darling 
wish  which  he  had  hidden  from  his  father  and  mother 
ever  since  he  was  ten  years  old. 

Now  this  young  gentleman,  Amyas  Leigh,  though 
come  of  as  good  blood  as  any  in  Devon,  and  having 
lived  all  his  life  in  what  we  should  even  now  call  the 
very  best  society,  and  being  (on  account  of  the  valour, 
courtesy,  and  truly  noble  qualities  which  he  showed 
forth  in  his  most  eventful  life)  chosen  by  me  as  the 
hero  and  centre  of  this  story,  was  not,  saving  for  his 
good  looks,  by  any  means  what  would  be  called  now- 
a-days  an  "interesting"  youth,  still  less  a  "highly 
educated"  one;  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  little 
Latin,  which  had  been  driven  into  him  by  repeated 
])lows,  as  if  it  had  been  a  nail,  he  knew  no  books 
whatsoever,  save  his  Bible,  his  Prayer-book,  the  old 
"  Mort  d' Arthur  "  of  Caxton's  edition,  which  lay  in  the 
great  bay  window  in  the  hall,  and  the  translation  of 
"Las  Casas'  History  of  the  West  Indies,"  which  lay 
beside  it,  lately  done  into  English  under  the  title  of 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  13 

"The  Cruelties  of  the  Spaniards."  He  devoutly 
believed  in  fairies,  whom  he  called  pixies ;  and  held 
that  they  changed  babies,  and  made  the  mushroom 
rings  on  the  downs  to  dance  in.  When  he  had  warts 
or  burns,  he  went  to  the  white  witch  at  Northam  to 
charm  them  away;  he  thought  that  the  sun  moved 
round  the  earth,  and  that  the  moon  had  some  kindred 
with  a  Cheshire  cheese.  He  held  that  the  swallows 
slept  all  the  winter  at  the  bottom  of  the  horse-pond ; 
talked,  like  Raleigh,  Grenvil,  and  other  low  persons, 
with  a  broad  Devonshire  accent;  and  was  in  many 
other  respects  so  very  ignorant  a  youth,  that  any  pert 
monitor  in  a  national  school  might  have  had  a  hearty 
laugh  at  him.  Nevertheless,  this  ignorant  young 
savage,  "vacant  of  the  glorious  gains"  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  children's  literature  and  science  made 
easy,  and,  worst  of  all,  of  those  improved  views  of 
English  history  now  current  among  our  railway  essay- 
ists, which  consist  in  believing  all  persons,  male  and 
female,  before  the  year  1688,  and  nearly  all  after  it, 
to  have  been  either  hypocrites  or  fools,  had  learnt 
certain  things  which  he  would  hardly  have  been 
taught  just  now  in  any  school  in  England;  for  his 
training  had  been  that  of  the  old  Persians,  "  to  speak 
the  truth  and  to  draw  the  bow,"  both  of  which  savage 
virtues  he  had  acquired  to  perfection,  as  well  as  the 
equally  savage  ones  of  enduring  pain  cheerfully,  and  of 
believing  it  to  be  the  finest  thing  in  the  world  to  be 
a  gentleman ;  by  which  word  he  had  been  taught  to 
understand  the  careful  habit  of  causing  needless  pain 
to  no  human  being,  poor  or  rich,  and  of  taking  pride 


14  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

in  giving  up  his  own  pleasure  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
were  weaker  than  himself.  Moreover,  having  been 
entrusted  for  the  last  year  with  the  breaking  of  a  colt, 
and  the  care  of  a  cast  of  young  hawks  which  his  father 
had  received  from  Lundy  Isle,  he  had  been  profiting 
much  by  the  means  of  those  coarse  and  frivolous 
amusements,  in  perseverance,  thoughtfulness,  and  the 
habit  of  keeping  his  temper ;  and  though  he  had  never 
had  a  single  "object  lesson,"  or  been  taught  to  "use 
his  intellectual  powers,"  he  knew  the  names  and  ways 
of  every  bird,  and  fish,  and  fly,  and  could  read,  as 
cunningly  as  the  oldest  sailor,  the  meaning  of  every 
drift  of  cloud  which  crossed  the  heavens.  Lastly,  he 
had  been  for  some  time  past,  on  account  of  his  extra- 
ordinary size  and  strength,  undisputed  cock  of  the 
school,  and  the  most  terrible  fighter  among  all  Bide- 
ford  boys;  in  which  brutal  habit  he  took  much 
delight,  and  contrived,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  to 
extract  from  it  good,  not  only  for  himself  but  for 
others,  doing  justice  among  his  school-fellows  with  a 
heavy  hand,  and  succouring  the  oppressed  and  afflicted ; 
so  that  he  was  the  terror  of  all  the  sailor-lads,  and  the 
pride  and  stay  of  all  the  town's-boys  and  girls,  and 
hardly  considered  that  he  had  done  his  duty  in  his 
calling  if  he  went  home  without  beating  a  big  lad  for 
bullying  a  little  one.  For  the  rest,  he  never  thought 
about  thinking,  or  felt  about  feeling;  and  had  no 
ambition  whatsoever  beyond  pleasing  his  father  and 
mother,  getting  by  honest  means  the  maximum  of 
"  red  quarrenders  "  and  mazard  cherries,  and  going  to 
sea  when  he  was  big  enough.     Neither  was  he  what 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  15 

would  be  now-a-days  called  by  many  a  pious  child ; 
for  though  he  said  his  Creed  and  Lord's  Prayer  night 
and  morning,  and  went  to  the  service  at  the  church 
every  forenoon,  and  read  the  day's  Psalms  with  his 
mother  every  evening,  and  had  learnt  from  her  and 
from  his  father  (as  he  proved  well  in  after  life),  that 
it  was  infinitely  noble  to  do  right  and  infinitely  base 
to  do  wrong,  yet  (the  age  of  children's  religious  books 
not  having  yet  dawned  on  the  world),  he  knew  nothing 
more  of  theology,  or  of  his  own  soul,  than  is  contained 
in  the  Church  Catechism.  It  is  a  question,  however, 
on  the  whole,  whether,  though  grossly  ignorant  (ac- 
cording to  our  modern  notions)  in  science  and  religion, 
he  was  altogether  untrained  in  manhood,  virtue,  and 
godliness;  and  whether  the  barbaric  narrowness  of 
his  Information  was  not  somewhat  counterbalanced 
both  in  him  and  in  the  rest  of  his  generation  by  the 
depth,  and  breadth,  and  healthiness  of  his  Education. 

So  let  us  Avatch  him  up  the  hill  as  he  goes  hugging 
his  horn,  to  tell  all  that  has  passed  to  his  mother, 
from  whom  he  had  never  hidden  anything  in  his  life, 
save  only  that  sea-fever;  and  that  only  because  he 
foreknew  that  it  would  give  her  pain ;  and  because, 
moreover,  being  a  prudent  and  sensible  lad,  he  knew 
that  he  was  not  yet  old  enough  to  go,  and  that,  as  he 
expressed  it  to  her  that  afternoon,  "  there  was  no  use 
hollaing  till  he  was  out  of  the  wood." 

So  he  goes  up  between  the  rich  lane-banks,  heavy 
with  drooping  ferns  and  honeysuckle;  out  upon  the 
windy  down  toward  the  old  Court,  nestled  amid  its 
ring  of  wind-clipt  oaks;   through  the  grey  gateway 


16  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

into  the  homeclose ;  and  then  he  pauses  a  moment  to 
look  around;  first  at  the  wide  bay  to  the  westward, 
with  its  southern  wall  of  purple  cliffs ;  then  at  the  dim 
Isle  of  Lundy  far  away  at  sea ;  then  at  the  cliffs  and 
downs  of  Morte  and  Braunton,  right  in  front  of  him ; 
then  at  the  vast  yellow  sheet  of  rolling  sandhill,  and 
green  alluvial  plain  dotted  with  red  cattle,  at  his  feet, 
through  which  the  silver  estuary  winds  onward  toward 
the  sea.  Beneath  him,  on  his  right,  the  Torridge,  like 
a  land-locked  lake,  sleeps  broad  and  bright  between 
the  old  park  of  Tapeley  and  the  charmed  rock  of  the 
Hubbastone,  where,  seven  hundred  years  ago,  the 
Norse  rovers  landed  to  lay  siege  to  Kenwith  Castle,  a 
mile  away  on  his  left  hand ;  and  not  three  fields  away, 
are  the  old  stones  of  "The  Bloody  Corner,"  where  the 
retreating  Danes,  cut  off  from  their  ships,  made  their 
last  fruitless  stand  against  the  Saxon  sheriff  and  the 
valiant  men  of  Devon.  Within  that  charmed  rock, 
so  Torridge  boatmen  tell,  sleeps  now  the  old  Norse 
Viking  in  his  leaden  coffin,  with  all  his  fairy  treasure 
and  his  crown  of  gold ;  and  as  the  boy  looks  at  the 
spot,  he  fancies,  and  almost  hopes,  that  the  day  may 
come  when  he  shall  have  to  do  his  duty  against  the 
invader  as  boldly  as  the  men  of  Devon  did  then. 
And  past  him,  far  below,  upon  the  soft  south-eastern 
breeze,  the  stately  ships  go  sliding  out  to  sea.  When 
shall  he  sail  in  them,  and  see  the  wonders  of  the 
deepi  And  as  he  stands  there  with  beating  heart 
and  kindling  eye,  the  cool  breeze  whistling  through 
his  long  fair  curls,  he  is  a  symbol,  though  he  knows 
it  not,  of  brave  young  England  longing  to  wing  its 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  17 

way  out  of  its  island  prison,  to  discover  and  to  traffic, 
to  colonise  and  to  civilise,  until  no  wind  can  sweep 
the  earth  which  does  not  bear  the  echoes  of  an  English 
voice.  Patience,  young  Amy  as  !  Thou  too  shalt 
forth,  and  westward  ho,  beyond  thy  wildest  dreams ; 
and  see  brave  sights,  and  do  brave  deeds,  which  no 
man  has  since  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Thou, 
too,  shalt  face  invaders  stronger  and  more  cruel  far 
than  Dane  or  Norman,  and  bear  thy  part  in  that  great 
Titan  strife  before  the  renown  of  which  the  name  of 
Salamis  shall  fade  away  ! 

Mr.  Oxenham  came  that  evening  to  supper  as  he 
had  promised :  but  as  people  supped  in  those  days 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  they  do  now,  we  may 
drop  the  thread  of  the  story  for  a  few  hours,  and  take 
it  up  again  after  supper  is  over. 

"  Come  now,  Dick  Grenvil,  do  thou  talk  the  good 
man  round,  and  I'll  warrant  myself  to  talk  round  the 
good  wife." 

The  personage  whom  Oxenham  addressed  thus 
familiarly,  answered  by  a  somewhat  sarcastic  smile, 
and,  "  Mr.  Oxenham  gives  Dick  Grenvil "  (with  just 
enough  emj)hasis  on  the  "Mr."  and  the  "Dick,"  to 
hint  that  a  liberty  had  been  taken  with  him)  "  over- 
much credit  with  the  men.  Mr.  Oxenham's  credit 
with  fair  ladies,  none  can  doubt.  Friend  Leigh,  is 
Heard's  great  ship  home  yet  from  the  Straits'?" 

The  speaker,  known  well  in  those  days  as  Sir 
Richard  Grenvile,  Granville,  Greenvil,  Greenfield^ 
with  two  or  three  other  variations,  was  one  of  those 
truly  heroical  personages  whom  Providence,   fitting 

VOL.  I.  c  w.  H. 


18  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

always  the  men  to  their  age  and  their  work,  had  sent 
upon  the  earth  whereof  it  takes  right  good  care,  not 
in  England  only,  but  in  Spain  and  Italy,  in  Germany 
and  the  Netherlands,  and  wherever,  in  short,  great 
men  and  great  deeds  were  needed  to  lift  the  mediaeval 
world  into  the  modern. 

And,  among  all  the  heroic  faces  which  the  painters 
of  that  age  have  preserved,  none,  perhaps,  hardly 
excepting  Shakspeare's  or  Spenser's,  Alva's  or  Parma's, 
is  more  heroic  than  that  of  Eichard  Grenvil,  as  it 
stands  in  Prince's  "  Worthies  of  Devon ;"  of  a  Spanish 
type,  perhaps  (or  more  truly  speaking,  a  Cornish), 
rather  than  an  English,  with  just  enough  of  the  British 
element  in  it,  to  give  delicacy  to  its  massiveness.  The 
forehead  and  whole  brain  are  of  extraordinary  loftiness, 
and  perfectly  upright;  the  nose  long,  aquiline,  and 
delicately  pointed;  the  mouth  fringed  with  a  short 
silky  beard,  small  and  ripe,  yet  firm  as  granite,  with 
just  pout  enough  of  the  lower  lip  to  give  hint  of  that 
capacity  of  noble  indignation  which  lay  hid  under  its 
usual  courtly  calm  and  sweetness ;  if  there  be  a  defect 
in  the  face,  it  is  that  the  eyes  are  somewhat  small,  and 
close  together,  and  the  eyebrows,  though  delicately 
arched,  and,  without  a  trace  of  peevishness,  too  closely 
pressed  down  upon  them,  the  complexion  is  dark,  the 
figure  tall  and  graceful ;  altogether  the  likeness  of  a 
wise  and  gallant  gentleman,  lovely  to  all  good  men, 
awful  to  all  bad  men ;  in  whose  presence  none  dare 
say  or  do  a  mean  or  a  ribald  thing ;  whom  brave  men 
left,  feeling  themselves  nerved  to  do  their  duty  better, 
while  cowards  slipped  away,  as  bats  and  owls  before 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  19 

the  sun.  So  he  lived  and  moved,  whether  in  the 
court  of  Elizabeth,  giving  his  counsel  among  the 
wisest ;  or  in  the  streets  of  Bideford,  capped  alike  by- 
squire  and  merchant,  shopkeeper  and  sailor ;  or  riding 
along  the  moorland  roads  between  his  houses  of  Stow 
and  Bideford,  while  every  woman  ran  out  to  her  door 
to  look  at  the  great  Sir  Kichard,  the  pride  of  North 
Devon ;  or,  sitting  there  in  the  low  muUioned  window 
at  Burrough,  with  his  cup  of  malmsey  before  him,  and 
the  lute  to  which  he  had  just  been  singing  laid  across 
his  knees,  while  the  red  western  sun  streamed  in  upon 
his  high,  bland  forehead,  and  soft  curling  locks ;  ever 
the  same  steadfast.  God-fearing,  chivalrous  man,  con- 
scious (as  far  as  a  soul  so  healthy  could  be  conscious) 
of  the  pride  of  beauty,  and  strength,  and  valour,  and 
wisdom,  and  a  race  and  name  which  claimed  direct 
descent  from  the  grandfather  of  the  Conqueror,  and 
was  tracked  down  the  centuries  by  valiant  deeds  and 
noble  benefits  to  his  native  shire,  himself  the  noblest 
of  his  race.  Men  said  that  he  was  proud:  but  he 
could  not  look  round  him  without  having  something 
to  be  proud  of ;  that  he  was  stern  and  harsh  to  his 
sailors :  but  it  was  only  when  he  saw  in  them  any 
taint  of  cowardice  or  falsehood ;  that  he  was  subject, 
at  moments,  to  such  fearful  fits  of  rage,  that  he  had 
been  seen  to  snatch  the  glasses  from  the  table,  grind 
them  to  pieces  in  his  teeth,  and  swallow  them :  but 
that  was  only  when  his  indignation  had  been  aroused 
by  some  tale  of  cruelty  or  oppression ;  and,  above  all, 
by  those  West  Indian  devilries  of  the  Spaniards,  whom 
he  regarded  (and  in  those  days  rightly  enough)  as  the 


20  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

enemies  of  God  and  man.  Of  this  last  fact  Oxenham 
was  well  aware,  and  therefore  felt  somewhat  puzzled 
and  nettled,  when,  after  having  asked  Mr.  Leigh's 
leave  to  take  young  Amyas  with  him,  and  set  forth  in 
glowing  colours  the  purpose  of  his  voyage,  he  found 
Sir  Eichard  utterly  unwilling  to  help  him  with  his 
suit. 

"  Heyday,  Sir  Eichard  ?  You  are  not  surely  gone 
over  to  the  side  of  those  canting  fellows  (Spanish 
Jesuits  in  disguise  every  one  of  them,  they  are),  who 
pretend  to  turn  up  their  noses  at  Franky  Drake  as  a 
pirate,  and  be  hanged  to  themf 

"My  friend  Oxenham,"  answered  he,  in  the  senten- 
tious and  measured  style  of  the  day,  "  I  have  always 
held,  as  you  should  know  by  this,  that  Mr.  Drake's 
booty,  as  well  as  my  good  friend  Captain  Hawkins's, 
is  lawful  prize,  as  being  taken  from  the  Spaniard,  who 
is  not  only  'hostis  humani  generis,'  but  has  no  right 
to  the  same,  having  robbed  it  violently,  by  torture  and 
extreme  iniquity,  from  the  poor  Indian,  whom  God 
avenge,  as  He  surely  will." 

"Amen,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"I  say  Amen  too,"  quoth  Oxenham,  "especially  if 
it  please  Him  to  avenge  them  by  English  hands." 

"And  I  also,"  went  on  Sir  Eichard ;  "for  the  right- 
ful owners  of  the  said  goods  being  either  miserably 
dead,  or  incapable  by  reason  of  their  servitude  of  ever 
recovering  any  share  thereof,  the  treasure,  falsely  called 
Spanish,  cannot  be  better  bestowed  than  in  building 
up  the  state  of  England  against  them,  our  natural 
enemies ;  and  thereby,  in  building  up  the  weal  of  the 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  •  21 

Reformed  Churches  throughout  the  world,  and  the 
hberties  of  all  nations,  against  a  tyranny  more  foul 
and  rapacious  than  that  of  Nero  or  Caligula ;  which  if 
it  be  not  the  cause  of  God,  I,  for  one,  know  not  what 
God's  cause  is !"  And  as  he  warmed  in  his  speech, 
his  eyes  flashed  very  fire. 

"  Hark  now  !"  said  Oxenham,  "  who  can  speak  more 
boldly  than  he  1  and  yet  he  will  not  help  this  lad  to 
so  noble  an  adventure." 

"  You  have  asked  his  father  and  mother ;  what  is 
their  answer?" 

"Mine  is  this,"  said  Mr.  Leigh;  "if  it  be  God's 
will  that  my  boy  should  become  hereafter  such  a 
mariner  as  Sir  Richard  Grenvil,  let  him  go,  and  God 
be  with  him ;  but  let  him  first  bide  here  at  home  and 
be  trained,  if  God  give  me  grace,  to  become  such  a 
gentleman  as  Sir  Richard  Grenvil." 

Sir  Richard  bowed  low,  and  Mrs.  Leigh  catching 
up  the  last  word — 

"There,  Mr.  Oxenham,  you  cannot  gainsay  that, 
unless  you  will  be  discourteous  to  his  worship.  And 
for  me — though  it  be  a  weak  woman's  reason,  yet  it 
is  a  mother's  :  he  is  my  only  child.  His  elder  brother 
is  far  away.  God  only  knows  whether  I  shall  see  him 
again ;  and  what  are  all  reports  of  his  virtues  and  his 
learning  to  me,  compared  to  that  sweet  presence  which 
I  daily  miss  1  Ah !  Mr.  Oxenham,  my  beautiful 
Joseph  is  gone ;  and  though  he  be  lord  of  Pharaoh's 
household,  yet  he  is  far  away  in  Egypt ;  and  you  will 
take  Benjamin  also !  Ah !  Mr.  Oxenham,  you  have 
no  child,  or  you  would  not  ask  for  mine  ! " 


22  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

"And  how  do  you  know  that,  my  sweet  Madam f 
said  the  adventurer,  turning  first  deadly  pale,  and  then 
glowing  red.  Her  last  words  had  touched  him  to  the 
quick  in  some  unexpected  place ;  and  rising,  he  court- 
eously laid  her  hand  to  his  lips,  and  said — "  I  say  no 
more.  Farewell,  sweet  Madam,  and  God  send  all  men 
such  wives  as  you." 

"And  all  wives,"  said  she,  smihng,  "  such  husbands 
as  mine." 

"Nay,  I  will  not  say  that,"  answered  he,  with  a 
half  sneer — and  then,  "Farewell,  friend  Leigh,  Fare- 
well, gallant  Dick  Grenvil.  God  send  I  see  thee  Lord 
High  Admiral  when  I  come  home.  And  yet,  why 
should  I  come  home  ?  Will  you  pray  for  poor  Jack, 
gentles?" 

"Tut,  tut,  man !  good  words,"  said  Leigh ;  "let  us 
drink  to  our  merry  meeting  before  you  go."  And 
rising,  and  putting  the  tankard  of  malmsey  to  his  lips, 
he  passed  it  to  Sir  Richard,  who  rose,  and  saying, 
"  To  the  fortune  of  a  bold  mariner  and  a  gallant  gentle- 
man," drank,  and  put  the  cup  into  Oxenham's  hand. 

The  adventurer's  face  was  flushed,  and  his  eye  wild. 
Whether  from  the  liquor  he  had  drunk  during  the 
day,  or  whether  from  Mrs.  Leigh's  last  speech,  he  had 
not  been  himself  for  a  few  minutes.  He  lifted  the 
cup,  and  was  in  act  to  pledge  them,  when  he  suddenly 
dropped  it  on  the  table,  and  pointed,  staring  and 
trembling,  up  and  down,  and  round  the  room,  as  if 
following  some  fluttering  object. 

"  There  !  Do  you  see  it  *?  The  bird  !— the  bird 
with  the  white  breast ! " 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  23 

Each  looked  at  the  other ;  but  Leigh,  who  was  a 
quick-witted  man,  and  an  old  courtier,  forced  a  laugh 
instantly,  and  cried — 

"  Nonsense,  brave  Jack  Oxenhani !  Leave  white 
birds  for  men  who  will  show  the  white  feather.  Mrs. 
Leigh  waits  to  pledge  you." 

Oxenham  recovered  himself  in  a  moment,  pledged 
them  all  round,  drinking  deep  and  fiercely ;  and  after 
hearty  farewells,  departed,  never  hinting  again  at  his 
strange  exclamation. 

After  he  was  gone,  and  while  Leigh  was  attending 
him  to  the  door,  Mrs.  Leigh  and  Grenvil  kept  a  few 
minutes'  dead  silence.     At  last — 

"God  help  him  !"  said  she. 

"Amen,"  said  Grenvil,  "for  he  never  needed  it 
more.  But,  indeed,  Madam,  I  put  no  faith  in  such 
omens." 

"But,  Sir  Eichard,  that  bird  has  been  seen  for 
generations  before  the  death  of  any  of  his  family.  I 
know  those  who  were  at  South  Tawton  when  his 
mother  died,  and  his  brother  also ;  and  they  both  saw 
it.     God  help  him  !  for,  after  all,  he  is  a  proper  man." 

"So  many  a  lady  has  thought  before  now,  Mrs. 
Leigh,  and  well  for  him  if  they  had  not.  But,  indeed, 
I  make  no  account  of  omens.  When  God  is  ready  for 
each  man,  then  he  must  go;  and  when  can  he  go 
better  f 

"  But,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  who  entered,  "  I  have  seen, 
and  especially  when  I  was  in  Italy,  omens  and  pro- 
phecies before  now  beget  their  own  fulfilment,  by 
driving  men  into  recklessness,  and  making  them  run 


24  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

headlong  upon  that  very  ruin  which,  as  they  fancied, 
was  running  upon  them." 

"And  which,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "they  might  have 
avoided,  if,  instead  of  trusting  in  I  know  not  what 
dumb  and  dark  destiny,  they  had  trusted  in  the  Hving 
God,  by  faith  in  whom  men  may  remove  mountains, 
and  quench  the  fire,  and  put  to  flight  the  armies  of 
the  alien.  I,  too,  know,  and  know  not  how  I  know, 
that  I  shall  never  die  in  my  bed." 

"God  forfend  !"  cried  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  And  why,  fair  Madam,  if  I  die  doing  my  duty  to 
my  God  and  my  queen  ?  The  thought  never  moves 
me  :  nay,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  pray  often  enough  that  I 
may  be  spared  the  miseries  of  imbecile  old  age,  and 
that  end  which  the  old  Northmen  rightly  called  'a 
cow's  death'  rather  than  a  man's.  But  enough  of 
this.  Mr.  Leigh,  you  have  done  wisely  to-night. 
Poor  Oxenham  does  not  go  on  his  voyage  with  a 
single  eye.  I  have  talked  about  him  with  Drake  and 
Hawkins ;  and  I  guess  why  Mrs.  Leigh  touched  him 
so  home  when  she  told  him  that  he  had  no  child." 

"Has  he  one,  then,  in  the  West  Indies?"  cried  the 
good  lady. 

"  God  knows ;  and  God  grant  we  may  not  hear  of 
shame  and  sorrow  fallen  upon  an  ancient  and  honour- 
able house  of  Devon.  My  brother  Stukely  is  woe 
enough  to  North  Devon  for  this  generation." 

"Poor  braggadocio!"  said  Mr.  Leigh;  "and  yet 
not  altogether  that  too,  for  he  can  fight  at  least." 

"So  can  every  mastiff"  and  boar,  much  more  an 
Englishman.     And  now  come  hither  to  me,  my  ad- 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  25 

venturous  godson,  and  don't  look  in  such  doleful 
dumps.  I  hear  you  have  broken  all  the  sailor  boys' 
heads  already." 

"Nearly  all,"  said  young  Amy  as,  with  due  modesty. 
"But  am  I  not  to  go  to  sea?" 

"  All  things  in  their  time,  my  boy,  and  God  forbid 
that  either  I  or  your  worthy  parents  should  keep  you 
from  that  noble  calling  which  is  the  safeguard  of  this 
England  and  her  queen.  But  you  do  not  wish  to  live 
and  die  the  master  of  a  trawler?" 

"  I  should  like  to  be  a  brave  adventurer,  like  Mr. 
Oxenham." 

"  God  grant  you  become  a  braver  man  than  he ! 
for  as  I  think,  to  be  bold  against  the  enemy  is  common 
to  the  brutes ;  but  the  prerogative  of  a  man  is  to  be 
bold  against  himself." 

"How,  sir?" 

"To  conquer  our  own  fancies.  Amy  as,  and  our 
own  lusts,  and  our  ambition,  in  the  sacred  name  of 
duty;  this  it  is  to  be  truly  brave,  and  truly  strong; 
for  he  who  cannot  rule  himself,  how  can  he  rule  his 
crew  or  his  fortunes?  Come,  now,  I  will  make  you 
a  promise.  If  you  will  bide  quietly  at  home,  and 
learn  from  your  father  and  mother  all  which  befits  a 
gentleman  and  a  Christian,  as  well  as  a  seaman,  the 
day  shall  come  when  you  shall  sail  with  Eichard 
Grenvil  himself,  or  with  better  men  than  he,  on  a 
nobler  errand  than  gold-hunting  on  the  Spanish  Main." 

"O  my  boy,  my  boy!"  said  Mrs.  Leigh,  "hear 
what  the  good  Sir  Richard  promises  you.  Many  an 
earl's  son  would  be  glad  to  be  in  your  place." 


26  HOW  MR.  OXENHAM 

"  And  many  an  earl's  son  will  be  glad  to  be  in  his 
place  a  score  years  hence,  if  he  will  but  learn  what  I 
know  you  two  can  teach  him.  And  now,  Amyas,  my 
lad,  I  will  tell  you  for  a  warning  the  history  of  that  Sir 
Thomas  Stukely  of  whom  I  spoke  just  now,  and  who 
was,  as  all  men  know,  a  gallant  and  courtly  knight, 
of  an  ancient  and  worshipful  family  in  Ilfracombe, 
well  practised  in  the  wars,  and  well  beloved  at  first 
by  our  incomparable  queen,  the  friend  of  all  true 
virtue,  as  I  trust  she  will  be  of  yours  some  day ;  who 
wanted  but  one  step  to  greatness,  and  that  was  this, 
that,  in  his  hurry  to  rule  all  the  world,  he  forgot  to 
rule  himself.  And  first,  he  wasted  his  estate  in  show 
and  luxury,  always  intending  to  be  famous,  and  de- 
strojdng  his  own  fame  all  the  while  by  his  vainglory 
and  haste.  Then,  to  retrieve  his  losses,  he  hit  upon 
the  peopling  of  Florida,  which  thou  and  I  will  see 
done  some  day,  by  God's  blessing;  for  I  and  some 
good  friends  of  mine  have  an  errand  there  as  well  as 
he.  But  he  did  not  go  about  it  as  a  loyal  man,  to 
advance  the  honour  of  his  queen,  but  his  own  honour 
only,  dreaming  that  he,  too,  should  be  a  king;  and 
was  not  ashamed  to  tell  her  majesty,  that  he  had 
rather  be  sovereign  of  a  molehill  than  the  highest 
subject  of  an  emperor." 

"They  say,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "that  he  told  her 
plainly  he  should  be  a  prince  before  he  died,  and  that 
she  gave  him  one  of  her  pretty  quips  in  return." 

"  I  don't  know  that  her  majesty  had  the  best  of  it. 
A  fool  is  many  times  too  strong  for  a  wise  man,  by 
virtue  of  his  thick  hide.     For  when  she  said  that  she 


SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD.  27 

hoped  she  should  hear  from  him  in  his  new  princi- 
pality, 'Yes,  sooth,'  says  he,  graciously  enough.  'And 
in  what  style f  asks  she.  'To  our  dear  sister,'  says 
Stukely :  to  which  her  clemency  had  nothing  to  reply, 
but  turned  away,  as  Mr.  Burleigh  told  me,  laughing." 

"Alas  for  him!"  said  gentle  Mrs.  Leigh.  "Such 
self-conceit — and  Heaven  knows  we  have  the  root  of 
it  in  ourselves  also — is  the  very  daughter  of  self-will, 
and  of  that  loud  crying  out  about  I,  and  me,  and  mine, 
which  is  the  very  bird-call  for  all  devils,  and  the  broad 
road  which  leads  to  death." 

"It  will  lead  him  to  his,"  said  Sir  Eichard ;  "God 
grant  it  be  not  upon  Tower-hill !  for  since  that  Florida 
plot,  and  after  that  his  hopes  of  Irish  preferment  came 
to  nought,  he  who  could  not  help  himself  by  fair  means 
has  taken  to  foul  ones,  and  gone  over  to  Italy  to  the 
Pope,  whose  infallibility  has  not  been  proof  against 
Stukely's  wit ;  for  he  was  soon  his  Holiness's  closet 
counsellor,  and,  they  say,  his  bosom  friend ;  and  made 
him  give  credit  to  his  boasts  that,  with  three  thousand 
soldiers  he  would  beat  the  English  out  of  Ireland,  and 
make  the  Pope's  son  king  of  it." 

"Ay,  but,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "I  suppose  the  Italians 
have  the  same  fetch  now  as  they  had  when  I  was 
there,  to  explain  such  ugly  cases;  namely,  that  the 
Pope  is  infallible  only  in  doctrine,  and  quoad  Pope ; 
while  quoad  hominem,  he  is  even  as  others,  or  indeed, 
in  general,  a  deal  worse,  so  that  the  office,  and  not  the 
man,  may  be  glorified  thereby.  But  where  is  Stukely 
now?" 

"  At  Rome  when  last  I  heard  of  him,  ruffling  it  up 


28      HOW  MR.  OXENHAM  SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD. 

and  down  the  Vatican  as  Baron  Eoss,  Viscount  Mur- 
rough,  Earl  Wexford,  Marquis  Leinster,  and  a  title  or 
two  more,  which  have  cost  the  Pope  little,  seeing  that 
they  never  were  his  to  give ;  and  plotting,  they  say, 
some  hair-brained  expedition  against  Ireland  by  the 
help  of  the  Spanish  king,  which  must  end  in  nothing 
but  his  shame  and  ruin.  And  now,  my  sweet  hosts, 
I  must  call  for  serving-boy  and  lantern,  and  home  to 
my  bed  in  Bideford." 

And  so  Amyas  Leigh  went  back  to  school,  and  Mr. 
Oxenham  went  his  way  to  Plymouth  again,  and  sailed 
for  the  Spanish  Main. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME  THE  FIRST  TIME. 

"  Si  taceant  liomines,  facient  te  siclera  notuni, 
Sol  nescit  comitis  immemor  esse  sui." 

Old  Epigram  on  Drake. 

Five  years  are  past  and  gone.  It  is  nine  of  the  clock 
on  a  still,  bright  November  morning ;  but  the  bells  of 
Bideford  church  are  still  ringing  for  the  daily  service 
two  hours  after  the  usual  time ;  and  instead  of  going 
soberly  according  to  wont,  cannot  help  breaking  forth 
every  five  minutes  into  a  jocund  peal,  and  tumbHng 
head  over  heels  in  ecstasies  of  joy.  Bideford  streets 
are  a  very  flower  garden  of  all  the  colours,  swarming 
with  seamen  and  burghers,  and  burghers'  wives  and 
daughters,  all  in  their  holiday  attire.  Garlands  are 
hung  across  the  streets,  and  tapestries  from  every 
window.  The  ships  in  the  pool  are  dressed  in  all 
their  flags,  and  give  tumultuous  vent  to  their  feelings 
by  peals  of  ordnance  of  every  size.  Every  stable  is 
crammed  with  horses ;  and  Sir  Richard  Grenvil's  house 
is  like  a  very  tavern,  with  eating  and  drinking,  and 
unsaddling,  and  running  to  and  fro  of  grooms  and 
serving-men.  Along  the  little  churchyard,  packed  full 
with  women,  streams  all  the  gentle  blood  of  North 
Devon, — tall  and  stately  men,  and  fair  ladies,  worthy 


30  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

of  the  days  when  the  gentry  of  England  were  by  due 
right  the  leaders  of  the  people,  by  personal  prowess 
and  beauty,  as  well  as  by  intellect  and  education.  And 
first,  there  is  my  lady  Countess  of  Bath,  whom  Sir 
Eichard  Grenvil  is  escorting,  cap  in  hand  (for  her  good 
Earl  Bourchier  is  in  London  with  the  queen) ;  and 
there  are  Bassets  from  beautiful  Umberleigh,  and 
Carys  from  more  beautiful  Clovelly,  and  Fortescues 
of  Wear,  and  Fortescues  of  Buckland,  and  Fortescues 
from  all  quarters,  and  Coles  from  Slade,  and  Stukelys 
from  Affton,  and  St.  Legers  from  Annery,  and  Coffins 
from  Portledge,  and  even  Coplestones  from  Eggesford, 
thirty  miles  away :  and  last,  but  not  least  (for  almost 
all  stop  to  give  them  place),  Sir  John  Chichester  of 
Ralegh,  followed  in  single  file,  after  the  good  old 
patriarchial  fashion,  by  his  eight  daughters,  and  three 
of  his  five  famous  sons  (one,  to  avenge  his  murdered 
brother,  is  fighting  valiantly  in  Ireland,  hereafter  to 
rule  there  wisely  also,  as  Lord-Deputy  and  Baron  of 
Belfast) ;  and  he  meets  at  the  gate  his  cousin  of 
Arlington,  and  behind  him  a  train  of  four  daughters 
and  nineteen  sons,  the  last  of  whom  has  not  yet  passed 
the  Town-hall,  while  the  first  is  at  the  Lychgate,  who, 
laughing,  make  way  for  the  elder  though  shorter  branch 
of  that  most  fruitful  tree ;  and  so  on  into  the  church, 
where  all  are  placed  according  to  their  degrees,  or  at 
least  as  near  as  may  be,  not  without  a  few  sour  looks, 
and  shovings,  and  whisperings,  from  one  high-born 
matron  and  another ;  till  the  churchwardens  and  sides- 
men, who  never  had  before  so  goodly  a  company  to 
arrange,  have  bustled  themselves  hot  and  red,  and 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  31 

frantic,  and  end  by  imploring  abjectly  the  help  of  the 
great  Sir  Eichard  himself  to  tell  them  who  everybody 
is,  and  which  is  the  elder  branch,  and  which  is  the 
younger,  and  who  carries  eight  quarterings  in  their 
arms,  and  who  only  four,  and  so  prevent  their  setting 
at  deadly  feud  half  the  fine  ladies  of  North  Devon ; 
for  the  old  men  are  all  safe  packed  away  in  the  cor- 
poration pews,  and  the  young  ones  care  only  to  get  a 
place  whence  they  may  eye  the  ladies.  And  at  last 
there  is  a  silence,  and  a  looking  toward  the  door,  and 
then  distant  music,  flutes  and  hautboys,  drums  and 
trumpets,  which  come  braying,  and  screaming,  and 
thundering  merrily  up  to  the  very  church  doors,  and 
then  cease;  and  the  churchwardens  and  sidesmen 
bustle  down  to  the  entrance,  rods  in  hand,  and  there 
is  a  general  whisper  and  rustle,  not  without  glad  tears 
and  blessings  from  many  a  woman,  and  from  some 
men  also,  as  the  wonder  of  the  day  enters,  and  the 
rector  begins,  not  the  morning  service,  but  the  good 
old  thanksgiving  after  a  victory  at  sea. 

And  what  is  it  which  has  thus  sent  old  Bideford 
wild  with  that  "godly  joy  and  pious  mirth,-'  of  which 
we  now  only  retain  traditions  in  our  translation  of 
the  psalms  1  Why  are  all  eyes  fixed,  with  greedy 
admiration,  on  those  four  weather-beaten  mariners, 
decked  out  with  knots  and  ribbons  by  loving  hands ; 
and  yet  more  on  that  gigantic  figure  who  walks  before 
them,  a  beardless  boy,  and  yet  with  the  frame  and 
stature  of  a  Hercules,  towering,  like  Saul  of  old,  a 
head  and  shoulders  above  all  the  congregation,  with 
his  golden  locks  flowing  down  over  his  shoulders? 


32  HOW  AMY  AS  CAME  HOME 

And  why,  as  the  five  go  instinctively  up  to  the  altar, 
and  there  fall  on  their  knees  before  the  rails,  are  all 
eyes  turned  to  the  pew,  where  Mrs.  Leigh  of  Burrough 
has  hid  her  face  between  her  hands,  and  her  hood 
rustles  and  shakes  to  her  joyful  sobs  'i  Because  there 
was  fellow-feeling  of  old  in  merry  England,  in  county 
and  in  town ;  and  these  are  Devon  men,  and  men  of 
Bideford,  whose  names  are  Amyas  Leigh  of  Burrough, 
John  vStaveley,  Michael  Heard,  and  Jonas  Marshall  of 
Bideford,  and  Thomas  Braund  of  Clovelly :  and  they, 
the  first  of  all  English  mariners,  have  sailed  round 
the  world  with  Francis  Drake,  and  are  come  hither  to 
give  God  thanks. 

It  is  a  long  story.  To  explain  how  it  happened 
we  must  go  back  for  a  page  or  two,  almost  to  the 
point  from  whence  we  started  in  the  last  Chapter. 

For  somewhat  more  than  a  twelvemonth  after  Mr. 
Oxenham's  departure,  young  Amyas  had  gone  on 
quietly  enough,  according  to  promise,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  certain  occasional  outbursts  of  fierceness  com- 
mon to  all  young  male  animals,  and  especially  to 
boys  of  any  strength  of  character.  His  scholarship, 
indeed,  progressed  no  better  than  before;  but  his 
home  education  went  on  healthily  enough;  and  he 
was  fast  becoming,  young  as  he  was,  a  right  good 
archer,  and  rider,  and  swordsman  (after  the  old  school 
of  buckler  practice)  when,  his  father,  having  gone 
down  on  business  to  the  Exeter  Assizes,  caught  (as 
was  too  common  in  those  days)  the  gaol-fever  from 
the  prisoners ;  sickened  in  the  very  court ;  and  died 
within  a  week. 


THE  FIRST  TIME.      *  33 

And  now  Mrs.  Leigh  was  left  to  God  and  her  own 
soul,  with  this  young  lion-cub  in  leash,  to  tame  and 
train  for  this  life  and  the  life  to  come.  She  had  loved 
her  husband  fervently  and  holily.  He  had  been  often 
peevish,  often  melancholy ;  for  he  was  a  disappointed 
man,  with  an  estate  impoverished  by  his  father's  folly, 
and  his  own  youthful  ambition,  which  had  led  him 
up  to  Court,  and  made  him  waste  his  heart  and  his 
purse  in  following  a  vain  shadow.  He  was  one  of 
those  men,  moreover,  who  possess  almost  every  gift 
except  the  gift  of  the  power  to  use  them ;  and  though 
a  scholar,  a  courtier,  and  a  soldier,  he  had  found  him- 
self, when  he  was  past  forty,  without  settled  employ- 
ment or  aim  in  life,  by  reason  of  a  certain  shyness, 
pride,  or  delicate  honour  (call  it  which  you  will), 
which  had  always  kept  him  from  playing  a  winning 
game  in  that  very  world  after  whose  prizes  he  hankered 
to  the  last,  and  on  which  he  revenged  himself  by  con- 
tinual grumbling.  At  last,  by  his  good  luck,  he  met 
with  a  fair  young  Miss  Foljambe,  of  Derbyshire,  then 
about  Queen  Elizabeth's  court,  who  was  as  tired  as  he 
of  the  sins  of  the  world,  though  she  had  seen  less  of 
them ;  and  the  two  contrived  to  please  each  other  so 
well,  that  though  the  queen  grumbled  a  little,  as  usual, 
at  the  lady  for  marrying,  and  at  the  gentleman  for 
adoring  any  one  but  her  royal  self,  they  got  leave  to 
vanish  from  the  little  Babylon  at  Whitehall,  and 
settle  in  peace  at  Burrough.  In  her  he  found  a 
treasure,  and  he  knew  what  he  had  found. 

Mrs.  Leigh  was,  and  had  been  from  her  youth,  one 
of   those   noble   old  English  churchwomen,  without 

VOL.  I.  D  w.  H. 


34  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

superstition,  and  without  severity,  who  are  among  the 
fairest  features  of  that  heroic  time.  There  was  a 
certain  melancholy  about  her,  nevertheless ;  for  the 
recollections  of  her  childhood  carried  her  back  to 
times  when  it  was  an  awful  thing  to  be  a  Protestant. 
She  could  remember  among  them,  five-and-twenty 
years  ago,  the  burning  of  poor  blind  Joan  Waste,  at 
Derby,  and  of  Mistress  Joyce  Lewis,  too,  like  herself, 
a  lady  born ;  and  sometimes  even  now,  in  her  nightly 
dreams,  rang  in  her  ears  her  mother's  bitter  cries  to 
God,  either  to  spare  her  that  fiery  torment,  or  to  give 
her  strength  to  bear  it,  as  she  whom  she  loved  had 
borne  it  before  her.  For  her  mother,  who  was  of  a 
good  family  in  Yorkshire,  had  been  one  of  Queen 
Catherine's  bed-chamber  women,  and  the  bosom  friend 
and  disciple  of  Anne  Askew.  And  she  had  sat  in 
Smithfield,  with  blood  curdled  by  horror,  to  see  the 
hapless  court  beauty,  a  month  before  the  paragon  of 
Henry's  court,  carried  in  a  chair  (so  crippled  was  she 
by  the  rack)  to  her  fiery  doom  at  the  stake,  beside 
her  fellow -courtier,  Mr.  Lascelles,  while  the  very 
heavens  seemed  to  the  shuddering  mob  around  to 
speak  their  wrath  and  grief  in  solemn  thunder  peals, 
and  heavy  drops  which  hissed  upon  the  crackling  pile. 
Therefore  a  sadness  hung  upon  her  all  her  life,  and 
deepened  in  the  days  of  Queen  Mary,  when,  as  a 
notorious  Protestant  and  heretic  she  had  had  to  hide 
for  her  life  among  the  hills  and  caverns  of  the  Peak, 
and  was  only  saved  by  the  love  which  her  husband's 
tenants  bore  her,  and  by  his  bold  declaration  that, 
good  Catholic  as  he  was,  he  would  run  through  the 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  35 

body  any  constable,  justice,  or  priest,  yea,  bishop  or 
cardinal,  who  dared  to  serve  the  Queen's  warrant  upon 
his  mfe. 

So  she  escaped :  but,  as  I  said,  a  sadness  hung  upon 
her  all  her  life ;  and  the  skirt  of  that  dark  mantle  fell 
upon  the  young  girl  who  had  been  the  partner  of  her 
wanderings  and  hidings  among  the  lonely  hills ;  and 
who,  after  she  was  married,  gave  herself  utterly  up  to 
God. 

And  yet  in  giving  herself  to  God,  Mrs.  Leigh  gave 
herself  to  her  husband,  her  children,  and  the  poor  of 
Northam  town,  and  was  none  the  less  welcome  to  the 
Grenviles,  and  Fortescues,  and  Chichesters,  and  all  the 
gentle  families  round,  who  honoured  her  husband's 
talents,  and  enjoyed  his  wit.  She  accustomed  herself 
to  austerities,  which  often  called  forth  the  kindly  re- 
bukes of  her  husband ;  and  yet  she  did  so  without  one 
superstitious  thought  of  appeasing  the  fancied  wrath 
of  God,  or  of  giving  him  pleasure  (base  thought)  by 
any  pain  of  hers ;  for  her  spirit  had  been  trained  in 
the  freest  and  loftiest  doctrines  of  Luther's  school ; 
and  that  little  mystic  "Alt-Deutsch  Theologie"  (to 
which  the  great  Eeformer  said  that  he  owed  more 
than  to  any  book,  save  the  Bible,  and  St.  Augustine) 
was  her  counsellor  and  comforter  by  day  and  night. 

And  now,  at  little  past  forty,  she  was  left  a 
widow ;  lovely  still  in  face  and  figure  ;  and  still  more 
lovely  from  the  divine  calm  which  brooded,  like  the 
dove  of  peace  and  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  (which  in- 
deed it  was),  over  every  look,  and  word,  and  gesture ; 
a  sweetness  which  had  been  ripened  by  storm,  as  well 


36  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

as  by  sunshine ;  which  this  world  had  not  given,  and 
could  not  take  away.  No  wonder  that  Sir  Richard 
and  Lady  Grenvile  loved  her ;  no  wonder  that  her 
children  worshipped  her ;  no  wonder  that  the  young 
Amyas,  when  the  first  burst  of  grief  was  over,  and  he 
knew  again  where  he  stood,  felt  that  a  new  life  had 
begun  for  him ;  that  his  mother  was  no  more  to  think 
and  act  for  him  only,  but  that  he  must  think  and  act 
for  his  mother.  And  so  it  was,  that  on  the  very  day 
after  his  father's  funeral,  when  school-hours  were  over, 
instead  of  coming  straight  home,  he  walked  boldly 
into  Sir  Richard  Grenvile's  house,  and  asked  to  see  his 
godfather. 

"  You  must  be  my  father  now,  sir,"  said  he  firmly. 

And  Sir  Richard  looked  at  the  boy's  broad  strong 
face,  and  swore  a  great  and  holy  oath,  like  Glasgerion's, 
"by  oak,  and  ash,  and  thorn,"  that  he  would  be  a 
father  to  him,  and  a  brother  to  his  mother,  for  Christ's 
sake.  And  Lady  Grenvile  took  the  boy  by  the  hand, 
and  walked  home  with  him  to  Burrough ;  and  there 
the  two  fair  women  fell  on  each  other's  necks,  and  wept 
together;  the  one  for  the  loss  which  had  been,  the 
other,  as  by  a  prophetic  instinct,  for  the  like  loss  which 
was  to  come  to  her  also.  For  the  sweet  St.  Leger 
knew  well  that  her  husband's  fiery  spirit  would  never 
leave  his  body  on  a  peaceful  bed  ;  but  that  death  (as 
he  prayed  almost  nightly  that  it  might)  would  find 
him  sword  in  hand,  upon  the  field  of  duty  and  of 
fame.  And  there  those  two  vowed  everlasting  sister- 
hood, and  kept  their  vow ;  and  after  that  all  things 
went  on  at  Burrough  as  before ;  and  Amyas  rode,  and 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  37 

shot,  and  boxed,  and  wandered  on  the  quay  at  Sir 
Richard's  side ;  for  Mrs.  Leigh  was  too  wise  a  woman 
to  alter  one  tittle  of  the  training  which  her  husband 
had  thought  best  for  his  younger  boy.  It  was  enough 
that  her  elder  son  had  of  his  own  accord  taken  to  that 
form  of  life  in  which  she  in  her  secret  heart  would  fain 
have  moulded  both  her  children.  For  Frank,  God's 
wedding  gift  to  that  pure  love  of  hers,  had  won  him- 
self honour  at  home  and  abroad;  first  at  the  school 
at  Bideford ;  then  at  Exeter  College,  where  he  had 
become  a  friend  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney's,  and  many 
another  young  man  of  rank  and  promise ;  and  next, 
in  the  summer  of  1572,  on  his  way  to  the  University 
of  Heidelberg,  he  had  gone  to  Paris,  with  (luckily  for 
him)  letters  of  recommendation  to  Walsingham,  at  the 
EngHsh  Embassy :  by  which  letters  he  not  only  fell  in 
a  second  time  with  Philip  Sidney,  but  saved  his  own 
life  (as  Sidney  did  his)  in  the  Massacre  of  Saint 
Bartholomew's  Day.  At  Heidelberg  he  had  stayed 
two  years,  winning  fresh  honour  from  all  who  knew 
him,  and  resisting  all  Sidney's  entreaties  to  follow  him 
into  Italy.  For,  scorning  to  be  a  burden  to  his  parents, 
he  had  become  at  Heidelberg  tutor  to  two  young 
German  princes,  whom,  after  living  with  them  at  their 
father's  house  for  a  year  or  more,  he  at  last,  to  his 
own  great  delight,  took  with  him  down  to  Padua,  "  to 
perfect  them,"  as  he  wrote  home,  "according  to  his 
insufficiency,  in  all  princely  studies."  Sidney  was  now 
returned  to  England ;  but  Frank  found  friends  enough 
without  him,  such  letters  of  recommendation  and 
diplomas  did  he  carry  from  I  know  not  how  many 


38  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

princes,  magnificoes,  and  learned  doctors,  who  had  fallen 
in  love  with  the  learning,  modesty,  and  virtue,  of  the 
fair  young  Englishman.  And  ere  Frank  returned  to 
Germany,  he  had  satiated  his  soul  with  all  the  wonders 
of  that  wondrous  land.  He  had  talked  over  the  art 
of  sonnetering  with  Tasso,  the  art  of  history  with 
Sarpi ;  he  had  listened  between  awe  and  incredulity 
to  the  daring  theories  of  Galileo ;  he  had  taken  his 
pupils  to  Venice,  that  their  portraits  might  be  painted 
by  Paulo  Veronese;  he  had  seen  the  palaces  of 
Palladio,  and  the  Merchant  Princes  on  the  Rialto,  and 
the  Argosies  of  Ragusa,  and  all  the  wonders  of  that 
meeting-point  of  east  and  west ;  he  had  watched  Tin- 
toretto's mighty  hand  "hurling  tempestuous  glories 
o'er  the  scene ; "  and  even,  by  dint  of  private  interces- 
sion in  high  places,  had  been  admitted  to  that  sacred 
room,  where,  with  long  silver  beard  and  undimmed 
eye,  amid  a  pantheon  of  his  own  creations,  the  ancient 
Titian,  patriarch  of  art,  still  lingered  upon  earth,  and 
told  old  tales  of  the  Bellinis,  and  Raffaelle,  and  Michael 
Angelo,  and  the  building  of  St.  Peter's,  and  the  fire  at 
Venice,  and  the  Sack  of  Rome,  and  of  kings  and 
warriors,  statesmen  and  poets,  long  since  gone  to  their 
account,  and  showed  the  sacred  brush  which  Francis 
the  First  had  stooped  to  pick  up  for  him.  And 
(licence  forbidden  to  Sidney  by  his  friend  Languet)  he 
had  been  to  Rome,  and  seen  (much  to  the  scandal  of 
good  Protestants  at  home)  that  "right  good  fellow," 
as  Sidney  calls  him,  who  had  not  yet  eaten  himself  to 
death,  the  Pope  for  the  time  being.  And  he  had 
seen  the  frescoes  of  the  Vatican,  and  heard  Palestrina 


THE  FIEST  TIME.  39 

preside  as  chapel-master  over  the  performance  of  his 
own  music  beneath  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  and  fallen 
half  in  love  with  those  luscious  strains,  till  he  was 
awakened  from  his  dream  by  the  recollection  that 
beneath  that  same  dome  had  gone  up  thanksgivings 
to  the  God  of  heaven,  for  those  blood-stained  streets, 
and  shrieking  women,  and  heaps  of  insulted  corpses, 
which  he  had  beheld  in  Paris  on  the  night  of  St. 
Bartholomew.  At  last,  a  few  months  before  his  father 
died,  he  had  taken  back  his  pupils  to  their  home  in 
Germany,  from  whence  he  was  dismissed,  as  he  wrote, 
with  rich  gifts ;  and  then  Mrs.  Leigh's  heart  beat  high, 
at  the  thought  that  the  wanderer  would  return :  but, 
alas !  within  a  month  after  his  father's  death,  came  a 
long  letter  from  Frank,  describing  the  Alps,  and  the 
valleys  of  the  Waldenses  (with  whose  Barbes  he  had 
had  much  talk  about  the  late  horrible  persecutions),  and 
setting  forth  how  at  Padua  he  had  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  that  illustrious  scholar  and  light  of  the  age, 
Stephanus  Parmenius  (commonly  called  from  his  native 
place,  Budaeus),  who  had  visited  Geneva  with  him,  and 
heard  the  disputations  of  their  most  learned  doctors, 
which  both  he  and  Budseus  disliked  for  their  hard 
judgments  both  of  God  and  man,  as  much  as  they 
admired  them  for  their  subtlety,  being  themselves,  as 
became  Italian  students,  Platonists  of  the  school  of 
Ficinus  and  Picus  Mirandolensis.  So  wrote  Master 
Frank,  in  a  long  sententious  letter,  full  of  Latin  quota- 
tions :  but  the  letter  never  reached  the  eyes  of  him  for 
whose  delight  it  had  been  penned  :  and  the  widow  had 
to  weep  over  it  alone,  and  to  weep  more  bitterly  than 


40  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

ever  at  tjie  conclusion,  in  which,  with  many  excuses, 
Frank  said  that  he  had,  at  the  special  entreaty  of  the 
said  Budseus,  set  out  with  him  down  the  Danube 
stream  to  Buda,  that  he  might,  before  finishing  his 
travels,  make  experience  of  that  learning  for  which 
the  Hungarians  were  famous  throughout  Europe. 
And  after  that,  though  he  wrote  again  and  again  to 
the  father  whom  he  fancied  living,  no  letter  in  return 
reached  him  from  home  for  nearly  two  years;  till, 
fearing  some  mishap,  he  hurried  back  to  England,  to 
find  his  mother  a  widow,  and  his  brother  Amyas  gone 
to  the  South  Seas  with  Captain  Drake  of  Plymouth. 
And  yet,  even  then,  after  years  of  absence,  he  was 
not  allowed  to  remain  at  home.  For  Sir  Richard,  to 
whom  idleness  was  a  thing  horrible  and  unrighteous, 
would  have  him  up  and  doing  again  before  six  months 
were  over,  and  sent  him  off  to  Court  to  Lord  Hunsdon. 
There,  being  as  delicately  beautiful  as  his  brother 
was  huge  and  strong,  he  had  speedily,  by  Carew's 
interest  and  that  of  Sidney  and  his  Uncle  Leicester, 
found  entrance  into  some  office  in  the  Queen's  house- 
hold ;  and  he  was  now  basking  in  the  full  sunshine  of 
Court  favour,  and  fair  ladies'  eyes,  and  all  the  chival- 
ries and  Euphuisms  of  Gloriana's  fairy  land,  and  the 
fast  friendship  of  that  bright  meteor,  Sidney,  who 
had  returned  with  honour  in  1577,  from  the  delicate 
mission  on  behalf  of  the  German  and  Belgian  Pro- 
testants, on  which  he  had  been  sent  to  the  Court  of 
Vienna,  under  colour  of  condoling  with  the  new  Em- 
peror Rodolph,  on  his  father's  death.  Frank  found 
him  when  he  himself  came  to  Court  in  1579,  as  lovely 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  41 

and  loving  as  ever ;  and  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
five,  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
men  of  Europe,  the  patron  of  all  men  of  letters,  the 
counsellor  of  warriors  and  statesmen,  and  the  con- 
fidant and  advocate  of  William  of  Orange,  Languet, 
Plessis  du  Mornay,  and  all  the  Protestant  leaders  on 
the  Continent ;  and  found,  moreover,  that  the  son  of 
the  poor  Devon  squire  was  as  welcome  as  ever  to  the 
friendship  of  nature's  and  fortune's  most  favoured, 
yet  most  unspoilt,  minion. 

Poor  Mrs.  Leigh,  as  one  who  had  long  since  learned 
to  have  no  self,  and  to  live  not  only  for  her  children, 
but  in  them,  submitted  without  a  murmur,  and  only 
said  smiling  to  her  stem  friend — "You  took  away 
my  mastiff-pup,  and  now  you  must  needs  have  my 
fair  greyhound  also." 

*'  Would  you  have  your  fair  greyhound,  dear  lady, 
grow  up  a  tall  and  true  Cotswold  dog,  that  can  pull 
down  a  stack  of  ten,  or  one  of  those  smooth-skinned 
poppets  which  the  Florence  ladies  lead  about  with  a 
ring  of  bells  round  its  neck,  and  a  flannel  farthingale 
over  its  loins'?" 

Mrs.  Leigh  submitted ;  and  was  rewarded  after  a 
few  months  by  a  letter  sent  through  Sir  Eichard, 
from  none  other  than  Gloriana  herself,  in  which  she 
thanked  her  for  "  the  loan  of  that  most  delicate  and 
flawless  crystal,  the  soul  of  her  excellent  son,"  with 
more  praises  of  him  than  I  have  room  to  insert,  and 
finished  by  exalting  the  poor  mother  above  the  famed 
Cornelia;  "for  those  sons,  whom  she  called  her 
jewels,  she  only  showed,  yet  kept  them  to  herself; 


42  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

but  you,  madam,  having  two  as  precious,  I  doubt  not, 
as  were  ever  that  Eoman  dame's,  have,  beyond  her 
courage,  lent  them  both  to  your  country  and  to  your 
queen,  who  therein  holds  herself  indebted  to  you  for 
that  which,  if  God  give  her  grace,  she  will  repay  as 
becomes  both  her  and  you."  Which  epistle  the  sweet 
mother  bedewed  with  holy  tears,  and  laid  by  in  the 
cedar-box  which  held  her  household  gods,  by  the  side 
of  Frank's  innumerable  diplomas  and  letters  of  re- 
commendation, the  Latin  whereof  she  was  always 
spelKng  over  (although  she  understood  not  a  word  of 
it),  in  hopes  of  finding  here  and  there  that  precious 
excellentissimus  Noster  Franciscus  Leighms  Anglus,  which 
was  all  in  all  to  the  mother's  heart. 

But  why  did  Amyas  go  to  the  South  Seas  ?  Amyas 
went  to  the  South  Seas  for  two  causes,  each  of  which 
has  before  now  sent  many  a  lad  to  far  worse  places : 
first,  because  of  an  old  schoolmaster;  secondly,  be- 
cause of  a  young  beauty.  I  will  take  them  in  order, 
and  explain. 

Vindex  Brimblecombe,  whilom  servitor  of  Exeter 
College,  Oxford  (commonly  called  Sir  Vindex,  after 
the  fashion  of  the  times),  was,  in  those  days,  master 
of  the  grammar-school  of  Bideford.  He  was,  at  root, 
a  godly  and  kind-hearted  pedant  enough :  but,  like 
most  schoolmasters  in  the  old  flogging  days,  had  his 
heart  pretty  well  hardened  by  long  baneful  licence  to 
inflict  pain  at  will  on  those  weaker  than  himself ;  a 
power  healthful  enough  for  the  victim  (for  doubtless 
flogging  is  the  best  of  all  punishments,  being  not  only 
the  shortest,  but  also  a  mere  bodily  and  animal  and. 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  43 

not,  like  most  of  our  new-fangled  "  humane  "  punish- 
ments, a  spiritual  and  fiendish  torture),  but  for  the 
executioner  pretty  certain  to  eradicate  from  all  but 
the  noblest  spirits  every  trace  of  chivalry  and  tender- 
ness for  the  weak,  as  well,  often,  as  all  self-control 
and  command  of  temper.  Be  that  as  it  may,  old  Sir 
Vindex  had  heart  enough  to  feel  that  it  was  now  his 
duty  to  take  especial  care  of  the  fatherless  boy  to 
whom  he  tried  to  teach  his  qui^  quce,  quod:  but  the 
only  outcome  of  that  new  sense  of  responsibility  was 
a  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  floggings,  which 
rose  from  about  two  a  week,  to  one  per  diem,  not 
without  consequences  to  the  pedagogue  himself. 

For  all  this  while,  Amyas  had  never  for  a  moment 
lost  sight  of  his  darling  desire  for  a  sea  life;  and 
when  he  could  not  wander  on  the  quay  and  stare  at 
the  shipping,  or  go  down  to  the  pebble-ridge  at 
Northam,  and  there  sit  devouring  with  hungry  eyes 
the  great  expanse  of  ocean,  which  seemed  to  woo  him 
outward  into  boundless  space,  he  used  to  console 
himself  in  school  hours  by  drawing  ships  and  imagin- 
ary charts  upon  his  slate,  instead  of  minding  his 
"humanities." 

Now  it  befel  upon  an  afternoon,  that  he  was  very 
busy  at  a  map,  or  bird's  eye  view  of  an  island,  whereon 
was  a  great  castle,  and  at  the  gate  thereof  a  dragon, 
terrible  to  see;  while  in  the  foreground  came  that 
which  was  meant  for  a  gallant  ship,  with  a  great  flag 
aloft,  but  which,  by  reason  of  the  forest  of  lances  with 
which  it  was  crowded,  looked  much  more  like  a  por- 
cupine carrying  a  sign-post ;  and  at  the  roots  of  those 


44  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

lances  many  little  round  o's,  whereby  were  signified 
the  heads  of  Amyas  and  his  schoolfellows,  who  were 
about  to  slay  that  dragon,  and  rescue  the  beautiful 
princess  who  dwelt  in  that  enchanted  tower.  To  be- 
hold which  marvel  of  art,  all  the  other  boys  at  the 
same  desk  must  needs  club  their  heads  together,  and 
with  the  more  security,  because  Sir  Vindex,  as  was 
his  custom  after  dinner,  was  lying  back  in  his  chair, 
and  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

But  when  Amyas,  by  special  instigation  of  the  evil 
spirit  who  haunts  successful  artists,  proceeded  further 
to  introduce,  heedless  of  perspective,  a  rock,  on  which 
stood  the  lively  portraiture  of  Sir  Yindex — nose, 
spectacles,  gown,  and  all;  and  in  his  hand  a  bran- 
dished rod,  while  out  of  his  mouth  a  label  shrieked 
after  the  runaways,  "  You  come  back  1"  while  a  similar 
label  replied  from  the  gallant  bark,  "  Good-bye,  mas- 
ter!" the  shoving  and  tittering  rose  to  such  a  pitch, 
that  Cerberus  awoke,  and  demanded  sternly  what 
the  noise  was  about.  To  which,  of  course,  there  was 
no  answer. 

"  You,  of  course,  Leigh  !  Come  up,  sir,  and  show 
me  your  exercitation." 

Now  of  Amyas's  exercitation  not  a  word  was 
written ;  and,  moreover,  he  was  in  the  very  article  of 
putting  the  last  touches  to  Mr.  Brimblecombe's  por- 
trait. Whereon,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  hearers, 
he  made  answer — 

"  All  in  good  time,  sir  ! "  and  went  on  drawing. 

"  In  good  time,  sir !     Insolent,  veni  et  vapida  /" 

But  Amyas  went  on  drawing. 


THE  FIEST  TIME.  45 

"Come  hither,  sirrah,  or  I'll  flay  you  alive  !" 

"  Wait  a  bit ! "  answered  Amyas. 

The  old  gentleman  jumped  up,  ferula  in  hand,  and 
darted  across  the  school,  and  saw  himself  upon  the 
fatal  slate. 

'^ Froh flagitium /  what  have  we  here,  villain?"  and 
clutching  at  his  victim,  he  raised  the  cane.  Where- 
upon, with  a  serene  and  cheerful  countenance,  up  rose 
the  mighty  form  of  Amyas  Leigh,  a  head  and  shoulders 
above  his  tormentor,  and  that  slate  descended  on  the 
bald  coxcomb  of  Sir  Vindex  Brimblecombe,  with  so 
shrewd  a  blow,  that  slate  and  pate  cracked  at  the 
same  instant,  and  the  poor  pedagogue  dropped  to  the 
floor,  and  lay  for  dead. 

After  which  Amyas  arose,  and  walked  out  of  the 
school,  and  so  quietly  home ;  and  having  taken  counsel 
with  himself,  went  to  his  mother,  and  said,  "  Please, 
mother,  I've  broken  schoolmaster's  head." 

"  Broken  his  head,  thou  wicked  boy !"  shrieked  the 
poor  widow;  "what  didst  do  that  for?" 

"I  can't  tell,"  said  Amyas,  penitently;  "I  couldn't 
help  it.  It  looked  so  smooth,  and  bald,  and  round, 
and — ^you  know?" 

"  I  know  ?  Oh,  wicked  boy !  thou  hast  given  place 
to  the  devil ;  and  now,  perhaps,  thou  hast  killed  him." 

"Killed  the  devil?"  asked  Amyas,  hopefuUy,  but 
doubtfully. 

"  No,  killed  the  schoolmaster,  sirrah !    Is  he  dead?" 

"I  don't  think  he's  dead;  his  coxcomb  sounded 
too  hard  for  that.  But  had  not  I  better  go  and  tell 
Sir  Richard?" 


46  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

The  poor  mother  could  hardly  help  laughing,  in 
spite  of  her  terror,  at  Amyas's  perfect  coolness  (which 
was  not  in  the  least  meant  for  insolence),  and  being 
at  her  wits'  end,  sent  him  as  usual  to  his  godfather. 

Amyas  rehearsed  his  story  again,  with  pretty  nearly 
the  same  exclamations,  to  which  he  gave  pretty  nearly 
the  same  answers ;  and  then — 

"What  was  he  going  to  do  to  you,  then,  sirrah f 

"  Flog  me,  because  I  could  not  write  my  exercise, 
and  so  drew  a  picture  of  him  instead." 

"What !  art  afraid  of  being  flogged  f 

"  Not  a  bit ;  besides,  I'm  too  much  accustomed  to 
it ;  but  I  was  busy,  and  he  was  in  such  a  desperate 
hurry ;  and,  oh,  sir,  if  you  had  but  seen  his  bald  head, 
you  would  have  broken  it  yourself !" 

Now  Sir  Richard  had,  twenty  years  ago,  in  like 
place,  and  very  much  in  like  manner,  broken  the  head 
of  Yindex  Brimblecombe's  father,  schoolmaster  in  his 
day;  and  therefore  had  a  precedent  to  direct  him; 
and  he  answered, 

"  Amyas,  sirrah  !  those  who  cannot  obey,  will  never 
be  fit  to  rule.  If  thou  canst  not  keep  discipline  now, 
thou  wilt  never  make  a  company  or  a  crew  keep  it 
when  thou  art  grown.     Dost  mind  that,  sirrah  f 

"  Yes,"  said  Amyas. 

"Then  go  back  to  school  this  moment,  sir,  and  be 
flogged." 

"  Yery  well,"  said  Amyas,  considering  that  he  had 
got  off  very  cheaply ;  while  Sir  Eichard,  as  soon  as  he 
Avas  out  of  the  room,  lay  back  in  his  chair,  and  laughed 
till  he  cried  again. 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  47 

So  Amyas  went  back,  and  said  that  he  was  come 
to  be  flogged;  whereon  the  old  schoolmaster,  whose 
pate  had  been  plastered  meanwhile,  wept  tears  of  joy 
over  the  returning  prodigal,  and  then  gave  him  such 
a  switching  as  he  did  not  forget  for  eight-and-forty 
hours. 

But  that  evening  Sir  Eichard  sent  for  old  Vindex, 
who  entered,  trembling,  cap  in  hand;  and  having 
primed  him  with  a  cup  of  sack,  said, — 

"  Well,  Mr.  Schoolmaster !  My  godson  has  been 
somewhat  too  much  for  you  to-day.  There  are  a 
couple  of  nobles  to  pay  the  doctor." 

"  O  Sir  Eichard,  gr alias  tibi  et  Dominio  !  but  the  boy 
hits  shrewdly  hard.  Nevertheless  I  have  repaid  him 
in  inverse  kind,  and  set  him  an  imposition,  to  learn 
me  one  of  Phsedrus  his  fables.  Sir  Eichard,  if  you  do 
not  think  it  too  much." 

"Which  then?  The  one  about  the  man  who 
brought  up  a  lion's  cub,  and  was  eaten  by  him  in  play 
at  last f 

"  Ah,  Sir  Eichard !  you  have  always  a  merry  wit. 
But,  indeed,  the  boy  is  a  brave  boy,  and  a  quick  boy. 
Sir  Eichard,  but  more  forgetful  than  Lethe;  and — 
sa^ienti  loquor — it  were  well  if  he  were  away,  for  I 
shall  never  see  him  again  without  my  head  aching. 
Moreover,  he  put  my  son  Jack  upon  the  fire  last 
Wednesday,  as  you  would  put  a  football,  though  he  is 
a  year  older,  your  Worship,  because,  he  said,  he  looked 
so  like  a  roasting  pig,  Sir  Eichard." 

"Alas,  poor  Jack!" 

"And  what's  more,  your  Worship,  he  is  pugnax, 


48  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

bellicosus,  gladiator^  a  fire-eater  and  swash-buckler,  be- 
yond all  Christian  measure ;  a  very  sucking  Entellus, 
Sir  Eichard,  and  will  do  to  death  some  of  her  majesty's 
lieges  ere  long,  if  he  be  not  wisely  curbed.  It  was 
but  a  month  agone  that  he  bemoaned  himself,  I  hear, 
as  Alexander  did,  because  there  were  no  more  worlds 
to  conquer,  saying  that  it  was  a  pity  he  was  so  strong, 
for  now  he  had  thrashed  all  the  Bideford  lads,  he  had 
no  sport  left ;  and  so,  as  my  Jack  tells  me,  last  Tues- 
day week  he  fell  upon  a  young  man  of  Barnstaple,  Sir 
Richard,  a  hosier's  man,  sir,  and  plebeius  (which  I 
consider  unfit  for  one  of  his  blood),  and,  moreover,  a 
man  full  grown,  and  as  big  as  either  of  us  (Vindex 
stood  five  feet  four  in  his  high-heeled  shoes),  and 
smote  him  clean  over  the  quay  into  the  mud,  because 
he  said  that  there  was  a  prettier  maid  in  Barnstaple 
(your  Worship  will  forgive  my  speaking  of  such  toys, 
to  which  my  fidelity  compels  me)  than  ever  Bideford 
could  show ;  and  then  offered  to  do  the  same  to  any 
man  who  dare  say  that  Mistress  Rose  Salterne,  his 
Worship  the  Mayor's  daughter,  was  not  the  fairest 
lass  in  all  Devon." 

"Eh'?  Say  that  over  again,  my  good  sir,"  quoth 
Sir  Richard,  who  had  thus  arrived,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  the  second  count  of  the  indictment. 

"  I  say,  good  sir,  whence  dost  thou  hear  all  these 
pretty  stories'?" 

"  My  son  Jack,  Sir  Richard,  my  son  Jack,  ingenui 
mdtus  puer." 

"But  not,  it  seems,  ingenui  pudoris.  Tell  thee 
what,  Mr.  Schoolmaster,  no  wonder  if  thy  son  gets 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  49 

put  on  the  fire,  if  thou  employ  him  as  a  tale-bearer. 
But  that  is  the  way  of  all  pedagogues  and  their  sons, 
by  which  they  train  the  lads  up  eaves-droppers  and 
favour -curriers,  and  prepare  them, — sirrah,  do  you 
hear  1 — for  a  much  more  lasting  and  hotter  fire  than 
that  which  has  scorched  thy  son  Jack's  nether-tackle. 
Do  you  mark  me,  sir?" 

The  poor  pedagogue,  thus  cunningly  caught  in  his 
own  trap,  stood  trembling  before  his  patron,  who,  as 
hereditary  head  of  the  Bridge-trust,  which  endowed 
the  school  and  the  rest  of  the  Bideford  charities, 
could,  by  a  turn  of  his  finger,  sweep  him  forth  with 
the  besom  of  destruction ;  and  he  gasped  with  terror 
as  Sir  Richard  went  on — 

"Therefore,  mind  you,  Sir  Schoolmaster,  unless 
you  shall  promise  me  never  to  hint  word  of  what  has 
passed  between  us  two,  and  that  neither  you  nor  yours 
shall  henceforth  carry  tales  of  my  godson,  or  speak 
his  name  within  a  day's  march  of  Mistress  Salterne's, 
look  to  it,  if  I  do  not " 

What  was  to  be  done  in  default  was  not  spoken ; 
for  down  went  poor  old  Vindex  on  his  knees : — 

"  Oh,  Sir  Eichard !  Excellentissime^  immb  prcecel- 
sissime  Domine  et  Senator,  I  promise !  0  sir.  Miles  et 
Eques  of  the  Garter,  Bath,  and  Golden  Fleece,  consider 
your  dignities,  and  my  old  age — and  my  great  family 
— nine  children — oh.  Sir  Richard,  and  eight  of  them 
girls  ! — Do  eagles  war  with  mice  1  says  the  ancient ! " 

"  Thy  large  family,  eh  ?  How  old  is  that  fat-witted 
son  of  thine  1" 

VOL,  I.  E  w.  H. 


50  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

"Sixteen,  Sir  Richard;  but  that  is  not  his  fault, 
indeed!" 

"  Nay,  I  suppose  he  would  be  still  sucking  his  thumb 
if  he  dared — get  up,  man — get  up  and  seat  yourself." 

"Heaven  forbid!"  murmured  poor  Vindex,  with 
deep  humility. 

"  Why  is  not  the  rogue  at  Oxford,  with  a  murrain 
on  him,  instead  of  lurching  about  here  carrying  tales, 
and  ogling  the  maidens'?" 

"  I  had  hoped,  Sir  Eichard — and  therefore  I  said 
it  was  not  his  fault — but  there  was  never  a  servitor- 
ship  at  Exter  open." 

"  Go  to,  man — go  to  !  I  will  speak  to  my  brethren 
of  the  trust,  and  to  Oxford  he  shall  go  this  autumn, 
or  else  to  Exeter  gaol,  for  a  strong  rogue,  and  a 
masterless  man.     Do  you  hear?" 

"Hear'? — oh,  sir,  yes!  and  return  thanks.  Jack 
shall  go,  Sir  Richard,  doubt  it  not — I  were  mad  else ; 
and,  Sir  Richard,  may  I  go  too'?" 

And  therewith  Vindex  vanished,  and  Sir  Richard 
enjoyed  a  second  mighty  laugh,  which  brought  in 
Lady  Grenvile,  who  possibly  had  overheard  the 
whole ;  for  the  first  words  she  said  were — 

"  I  think,  my  sweet  life,  we  had  better  go  up  to 
Burrough." 

So  to  Burrough  they  went ;  and  after  much  talk, 
and  many  tears,  matters  were  so  concluded  that  Amyas 
Leigh  found  himself  riding  joyfully  towards  Plymouth, 
by  the  side  of  Sir  Richard,  and  being  handed  over  to 
Captain  Drake,  vanished  for  three  years  from  the 
good  town  of  Bideford. 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  51 

And  now  he  is  returned  in  triumph,  and  the 
observed  of  all  observers;  and  looks  round  and 
round,  and  sees  all  faces  whom  he  expects,  except 
one;  and  that  the  one  which  he  had  rather  see 
than  his  mother's  ?  He  is  not  quite  sure.  Shame  on 
himself ! 

And  now  the  prayers  being  ended,  the  Eector 
ascends  the  pulpit,  and  begins  his  sermon  on  the 
text : — 

"  The  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens  are  the 
Lord's ;  the  whole  earth  hath  he  given  to  the  children 
of  men ;"  deducing  therefrom  craftily,  to  the  exceeding 
pleasure  of  his  hearers,  the  iniquity  of  the  Spaniards 
in  dispossessing  the  Indians,  and  in  arrogating  to 
themselves  the  sovereignty  of  the  tropic  seas;  the 
vanity  of  the  Pope  of  Rome  in  pretending  to  bestow 
on  them  the  new  countries  of  America;  and  the 
justice,  valour,  and  glory  of  Mr.  Drake  and  his  expedi- 
tion, as  testified  by  God's  miraculous  protection  of  him 
and  his,  both  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  in  his 
battle  with  the  Galleon ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  upon 
the  rock  by  Celebes,  when  the  Pelican  lay  for  hours 
firmly  fixed,  and  was  floated  off  unhurt,  as  it  were  by 
miracle,  by  a  sudden  shift  of  wind. 

Ay,  smile,  reader,  if  you  will;  and,  perhaps,  there 
was  matter  for  a  smile  in  that  honest  sermon,  inter- 
larded, as  it  was,  with  scraps  of  Greek  and  Hebrew, 
which  no  one  understood,  but  every  one  expected  as 
their  right  (for  a  preacher  was  nothing  then  who 
could  not  prove  himself  "a  good  Latiner");  and 
graced,    moreover,    by    a    somewhat    pedantic    and 


52  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

lengthy  refutation  from  Scripture  of  Dan  Horace's 
cockney  horror  of  the  sea — 

"  Illi  robur  et  ses  triplex,"  etc. 
and    his  infidel   and    ungodly   slander  against    the 
"  impias  rates,"  and  their  crews. 

Smile,  if  you  will :  but  those  were  days  (and  there 
were  never  less  superstitious  ones)  in  which  English- 
men believed  in  the  living  God,  and  were  not  ashamed 
to  acknowledge,  as  a  matter  of  course,  His  help  and 
providence,  and  calling,  in  the  matters  of  daily  life, 
which  we  now  in  our  covert  Atheism  term  "  secular 
and  carnal;"  and  when,  the  sermon  ended,  the 
Communion  Service  had  begun,  and  the  bread  and 
the  wine  were  given  to  those  five  mariners,  every 
gallant  gentleman  who  stood  near  them  (for  the  press 
would  not  allow  of  more),  knelt  and  received  the 
elements  with  them  as  a  thing  of  course,  and  then 
rose  to  join  with  heart  and  voice  not  merely  in  the 
Gloria  in  Excelsis^  but  in  the  Te  Deum,  which  was  the 
closing  act  of  all.  And  no  sooner  had  the  clerk  given 
out  the  first  verse  of  that  great  hymn,  than,  it  was 
taken  up  by  five  hundred  voices  within  the  church, 
in  bass  and  tenor,  treble  and  alto  (for  every  one 
could  sing  in  those  days,  and  the  west  country  folk, 
as  now,  were  fuller  than  any  of  music),  the  chaunt 
was  caught  up  by  the  crowd  outside,  and  rang  away 
over  roof  and  river,  up  to  the  woods  of  Annery,  and 
down  to  the  marshes  of  the  Taw,  in  wave  on  wave  of 
harmony.  And  as  it  died  away,  the  shipping  in  the 
river  made  answer  with  their  thunder,  and  the  crowd 
streamed  out  again  toward  the  Bridge  Head,  whither 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  53 

Sir  Kichard  Grenvile,  and  Sir  John  Chichester,  and 
Mr.  Salterne,  the  Mayor,  led  the  five  heroes  of  the 
day  to  await  the  pageant  which  had  been  prepared  in 
honour  of  them.  And  as  they  went  by,  there  were 
few  in  the  crowd  who  did  not  press  forward  to  shake 
them  by  the  hand,  and  not  only  them,  but  their 
parents  and  kinsfolk  who  walked  behind,  till  Mrs. 
Leigh,  her  stately  joy  quite  broken  down  at  last,  could 
only  answer  between  her  sobs,  "  Go  along,  good  people 
— God  a  mercy,  go  along — and  God  send  you  all  such 
sons ! " 

"  God  give  me  back  mine  ! "  cried  an  old  red-cloaked 
dame  in  the  crowd ;  and  then,  struck  by  some  hidden 
impulse,  she  sprang  forward,  and  catching  hold  of 
young  Amyas's  sleeve — 

"  Kind  sir !  dear  sir !  For  Christ  his  sake  answer 
a  poor  old  widow  woman  ! " 

"What  is  it,  damef  quoth  Amyas,  gently  enough. 

"Did  you  see  my  son  to  the  Indies^ — my  son 
Salvation?" 

"  Salvation  f  replied  he,  with  the  air  of  one  who 
recollected  the  name. 

"Yes,  sure.  Salvation  Yeo,  of  Clovelly.  A  tall 
man  and  black,  and  sweareth  awfully  in  his  talk,  the 
Lord  forgive  him  ! " 

Amyas  recollected  now.  It  was  the  name  of  the 
sailor  who  had  given  him  the  wondrous  horn  five 
years  ago. 

"  My  good  dame,"  said  he,  "  the  Indies  are  a  very 
large  place,  and  your  son  may  be  safe  and  sound 
enough  there,  without  my  having  seen  him.     I  knew 


54  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

one  Salvation  Yeo.    But  he  must  have  come  with . 

By  the  by,  godfather,  has  Mr.  Oxenham  come  home?" 

There  was  a  dead  silence  for  a  moment  among  the 
gentlemen  round ;  and  then  Sir  Eichard  said  solemnly, 
and  in  a  low  voice,  turning  away  from  the  old  dame, — 

"  Amyas,  Mr.  Oxenham  has  not  come  home ;  and 
from  the  day  he  sailed,  no  word  has  been  heard  of 
him,  and  all  his  crew." 

"  Oh,  Sir  Eichard  !  and  you  kept  me  from  sailing 
with  him!  Had  I  known  this  before  I  went  into 
church,  I  had  had  one  mercy  more  to  thank  God  for." 

"  Thank  Him  all  the  more  in  thy  life,  my  child ! " 
whispered  his  mother. 

"And  no  news  of  him  whatsoever?" 

"  None ;  but  that  the  year  after  he  sailed,  a  ship 
belonging  to  Andrew  Barker,  of  Bristol,  took  out  of  a 
Spanish  caravel,  somewhere  off  the  Honduras,  his  two 
brass  guns ;  but  whence  they  came  the  Spaniard  knew 
not,  having  bought  them  at  Nombre  de  Dios." 

"  Yes  ! "  cried  the  old  woman ;  "  they  brought  home 
the  gims  and  never  brought  home  my  boy  ! " 

"They  never  saw  your  boy,  mother,"  said  Sir 
Eichard. 

"  But  I've  seen  him !  I  saw  him  in  a  dream  four 
years  last  Whitsuntide,  as  plain  as  I  see  you  now, 
gentles,  a-lying  upon  a  rock,  calling  for  a  drop  of  water 
to  cool  his  tongue,  like  Dives  to  the  torment !  Oh  ! 
dear  me  ! "  and  the  old  dame  wept  bitterly. 

"There  is  a  rose  noble  for  you !"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"And  there  another!"  said  Sir  Eichard.  And  in 
a  few  minutes  four  or  five  gold  coins  were  in  her  hand. 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  55 

But  the  old  dame  did  but  look  wonderingly  at  the 
gold  a  moment,  and  then — 

"  Ah  !  dear  gentles,  God's  blessing  on  you,  and  Mr. 
Gary's  mighty  good  to  me  already;  but  gold  won't 
buy  back  childer  !  0  !  young  gentleman  !  young  gentle- 
man !  make  me  a  promise  ;  if  you  want  God's  blessing 
on  you  this  day,  bring  me  back  my  boy,  if  you  find 
him  sailing  on  the  seas  !  Bring  him  back,  and  an  old 
widow's  blessing  be  on  you !" 

Amyas  promised — what  else  could  he  do  1 — and  the 
group  hurried  on;  but  the  lad's  heart  was  heavy  in 
the  midst  of  joy,  with  the  thought  of  John  Oxenham, 
as  he  walked  through  the  churchyard,  and  down  the 
short  street  which  led  between  the  ancient  school  and 
still  more  ancient  town-house,  to  the  head  of  the  long 
bridge,  across  which  the  pageant,  having  arranged 
"east-the-water,"  was  to  defile,  and  then  turn  to  the 
right  along  the  quay. 

However,  he  was  bound  in  all  courtesy  to  turn  his 
attention  now  to  the  show  which  had  been  prepared 
in  his  honour;  and  which  was  really  well  enough 
worth  seeing  and  hearing.  The  English  were,  in 
those  days,  an  altogether  dramatic  people ;  ready  and 
able,  as  in  Bideford  that  day,  to  extemporise  a  pageant, 
a  masque,  or  any  effort  of  the  Thespian  art  short  of 
the  regular  drama.  For  they  were,  in  the  first  place, 
even  down  to  the  very  poorest,  a  well-fed  people,  with 
fewer  luxuries  than  we,  but  more  abundant  necessaries ; 
and  while  beef,  ale,  and  good  woollen  clothes  could  be 
obtained  in  plenty,  without  overworking  either  body 
or  soul,  men  had  time  to  amuse  themselves  in  some- 


56  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

tiling  more  intellectual  than  mere  toping  in  pot-houses. 

Moreover,  the  half  century  after  the  Eeformation  in 

England,   was   one   not  merely   of  new  intellectual 

freedom,  but  of  immense  animal  good  spirits.     After 

years  of   dumb   confusion   and   cruel  persecution,   a 

breathing  time  had  come :    Mary  and   the   fires  of 

Smithfield  had  vanished  together  like  a  hideous  dream, 

and  the  mighty  shout  of  joy  which  greeted  Elizabeth's 

entry  into  London,  was  the  key-note  of  fifty  glorious 

years;  the  expression  of  a  new-found  strength  and 

freedom,  which  vented  itself  at  home  in  drama  and 

in  song ;  abroad  in  mighty  conquests,  achieved  with 

the  laughing  recklessness  of  boys  at  play. 

So  first,  preceded  by  the  waits,  came  along  the 

bridge  toward  the  town-hall,  a  device  prepared  by  the 

good  rector,  who,  standing  by,  acted  as  showman,  and 

explained  anxiously  to  the  bystanders  the  import  of  a 

certain  "allegory"  wherein  on  a  great  banner  was 

depicted  Queen  Elizabeth  herself,  who,  in  ample  ruff" 

and  farthingale,  a  Bible  in  one  hand  and  a  sword  in 

the  other,  stood  triumphant  upon  the  necks  of  two 

sufficiently  abject  personages,  whose  triple  tiara  and 

imperial  crown  proclaimed  them  the  Pope  and  the 

King  of  Spain ;  while  a  label,  issuing  from  her  royal 

mouth,  informed  the  world  that — 

* '  By  land  and  sea  a  virgin  queen  I  reign, 
And  spurn  to  dust  both  Antichrist  and  Spain. " 

Which,  having  been  received  with  due  applause,  a  well- 
bedizened  lad,  having  in  his  cap  as  a  posy  "Loyalty," 
stepped  forward,  and  delivered  himself  of  the  follow- 
ing verses : — 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  57 

"  Oh,  great  Eliza  !  oh,  world-famous  crew  ! 
Which  shall  I  hail  more  blest,  your  queen  or  you  ? 
While  without  other  either  falls  to  wrack, 
And  light  must  eyes,  or  eyes  their  light  must  lack. 
She  without  you,  a  diamond  sunk  in  mine, 
Its  worth  unprized,  to  self  alone  must  shine  ; 
You  without  her,  like  hands  bereft  of  head. 
Like  Ajax  rage,  by  blindfold  lust  misled. 
She  light,  you  eyes  ;  she  head,  and  you  the  hands, 
In  fair  proportion  knit  by  heavenly  bands  ; 
Servants  in  queen,  and  queen  in  servants  blest ; 
Your  only  glory,  how  to  serve  her  best ; 
And  hers  how  best  the  adventurous  might  to  guide, 
Which  knows  no  check  of  foemen,  wind,  or  tide, 
So  fair  Eliza's  spotless  fame  may  fly 
Triumphant  round  the  globe,  and  shake  th'  astounded  sky  ! " 

With  which  sufficiently  bad  verses  Loyalty  passed  on, 
while  my  Lady  Bath  hinted  to  Sir  Richard,  not  with- 
out reason,  that  the  poet,  in  trying  to  exalt  both 
parties,  had  very  sufficiently  snubbed  both,  and  inti- 
mated, that  it  was  "hardly  safe  for  country  wits  to 
attempt  that  euphuistic,  antithetical,  and  delicately 
conceited  vein,  whose  proper  fountain  was  in  White- 
hall." However,  on  went  Loyalty,  very  well  pleased 
with  himself,  and  next,  amid  much  cheering,  two  great 
tinsel  fish,  a  salmon,  and  a  trout,  symbolical  of  the 
wealth  of  Torridge,  waddled  along,  by  means  of  two 
human  legs  and  a  staff  apiece,  which  protruded  from 
the  fishes'  stomachs.  They  drew  (or  seemed  to  draw, 
for  half  the  'prentices  in  the  town  were  shoving  it 
behind,  and  cheering  on  the  panting  monarchs  of  the 
flood)  a  car  wherein  sate,  amid  reeds  and  river-flags, 
three  or  four  pretty  girls  in  robes  of  grey-blue  spangled 
with  gold,  their  heads  wreathed  one  with  a  crown  of 


58  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

the  sweet  bog-myrtle,  another  with  hops  and  white 
convolvulus,  the  third  with  pale  heather  and  golden 
fern.  They  stopped  opposite  Amyas ;  and  she  of  the 
myrtle-wreath,  rising  and  bowing,  to  him  and  the 
company,  began  with  a  pretty  blush  to  say  her  say  : — 

"  Hither  from  my  moorland  home, 
Nymph  of  Torridge,  proud  I  come  ; 
Leaving  fen  and  furzy  brake, 
Haunt  of  eft  and  spotted  snake, 
"Where  to  fill  mine  urns  I  use, 
Daily  with  Atlantic  dews  ; 
While  beside  the  reedy  flood 
Wild  duck  leads  her  paddling  brood. 
For  this  morn,  as  Phoebus  gay 
Chased  through  heaven  the  night  mist  grey, 
Close  beside  me,  prankt  in  pride, 
Sister  Tamar  rose,  and  cried, 
'  Sluggard,  up  !  'Tis  holiday, 
In  the  lowlands  far  away. 
Hark  !  how  jocund  Plymouth  bells. 
Wandering  up  through  mazy  dells, 
Call  me  down,  ^\ith  smiles  to  hail, 
My  daring  Drake's  returning  sail.' 

*  Thine  alone  ?'  I  answer'd.      *  Nay  ; 
Mine  as  well  the  joy  to-day. 
Heroes  train'd  on  Northern  wave, 
To  that  Argo  new  I  gave  ; 

Lent  to  thee,  they  roam'd  the  main  ; 
Give  me,  nymph,  my  sons  again.' 

*  Go,  they  wait  Thee,'  Tamar  cried, 
Southward  bounding  from  my  side. 
Glad  I  rose,  and  at  my  call, 
Came  my  Naiads,  one  and  all. 
Nursling  of  the  mountain  sky. 
Leaving  Dian's  choir  on  high, 
Do^vn  her  cataracts  laughing  loud, 
Ockment  leapt  from  crag  and  cloud. 
Leading  many  a  nymph,  who  dwells 
Where  wild  deer  drink  in  ferny  dells  ; 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  59 

While  the  Oreads  as  they  past 
Peep'd  from  Druid  Tors  aghast. 
By  alder  copses  sliding  slow, 
Knee-deep  in  flowers  came  gentler  Yeo, 
And  paused  awhile  her  locks  to  twine 
With  musky  hops  and  white  woodbine, 
Then  joined  the  silver-footed  band. 
Which  circled  down  my  golden  sand, 
By  dappled  park,  and  harbour  shady, 
Haunt  of  love-lorn  knight  and  lady, 
My  thrice-renowned  sons  to  greet, 
With  rustic  song  and  pageant  meet. 
For  joy  !  the  girdled  robe  around 
Eliza's  name  henceforth  shall  sound, 
Whose  venturous  fleets  to  conquest  start. 
Where  ended  once  the  seaman's  chart. 
While  circling  Sol  his  steps  shall  count 
Henceforth  from  Thule's  western  mount, 
And  lead  new  rulers  round  the  seas 
From  furthest  Cassiterides. 
For  found  is  now  the  golden  tree, 
Solv'd  th'  Atlantic  mystery, 
Pluck'd  the  dragon-guarded  fruit ; 
While  around  the  charmed  root, 
Wailing  loud,  the  Hesperids 
Watch  their  warder's  drooping  lids. 
Low  he  lies  with  grisly  wound. 
While  the  sorceress  triple-crown'd 
In  her  scarlet  robe  doth  shield  him, 
Till  her  cunning  spells  have  heal'd  him. 
Ye,  meanwhile,  around  the  earth 
Bear  the  prize  of  manful  worth. 
Yet  a  nobler  meed  than  gold 
Waits  for  Albion's  children  bold  ; 
Great  Eliza's  virgin  hand 
Welcomes  you  to  Fairy-land, 
While  your  native  Naiads  bring 
Native  WTeaths  as  offering. 
Simple  though  their  show  may  be, 
Britain's  worship  in  them  see. 


60  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

'Tis  not  price,  nor  outward  fairness, 
Gives  the  victor's  palm  its  rareness  ; 
Simplest  tokens  can  impart 
Noble  throb  to  noble  heart : 
Grsecia,  prize  thy  parsley  crown, 
Boast  thy  laurel,  Caesar's  town  ; 
Moorland  myrtle  still  shall  be 
Badge  of  Devon's  Chivalry  !" 

And  so  ending,  she  took  the  wreath  of  fragrant 
gale  from  her  own  head,  and  stooping  from  the  car, 
placed  it  on  the  head  of  Amyas  Leigh,  who  made 
answer — 

"  There  is  no  place  like  home,  my  fair  mistress ; 
and  no  scent  to  my  taste  like  this  old  home-scent  in 
all  the  spice-islands  that  I  ever  sailed  by  !" 

"  Her  song  was  not  so  bad,"  said  Sir  Eichard  to 
Lady  Bath — "but  how  came  she  to  hear  Plymouth 
bells  at  Tamar-head,  full  fifty  miles  away?  That's 
too  much  of  a  poet's  licence,  is  it  notf 

"  The  river  nymphs,  as  daughters  of  Oceanus,  and 
thus  of  immortal  parentage,  are  bound  to  possess 
organs  of  more  than  mortal  keenness;  but,  as  you 
say,  the  song  was  not  so  bad — erudite,  as  well  as 
prettily  conceived — and,  saving  for  a  certain  rustical 
simplicity  and  monosyllabic  baldness,  smacks  rather 
of  the  forests  of  Castaly  than  those  of  Torridge." 

So  spake  my  Lady  Bath ;  whom  Sir  Eichard  wisely 
answered  not ;  for  she  was  a  terribly  learned  member 
of  the  college  of  critics,  and  disputed  even  with 
Sidney's  sister  the  chieftaincy  of  the  Euphuists;  so 
Sir  Eichard  answered  not,  but  answer  was  made  for 
him. 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  61 

"Since  the  whole  choir  of  Muses,  madam,  have 
migrated  to  the  Court  of  Whitehall,  no  wonder  if 
some  dews  of  Parnassus  should  fertilise  at  times  even 
our  Devon  moors." 

The  speaker  was  a  tall  and  slim  young  man,  some 
five-and-twenty  years  old,  of  so  rare  and  delicate  a 
beauty,  that  it  seemed  that  some  Greek  statue,  or 
rather  one  of  those  pensive  and  pious  knights  whom 
the  old  German  artists  took  delight  to  paint,  had  con- 
descended to  tread  awhile  this  work-day  earth  in 
living  flesh  and  blood.  The  forehead  was  very  lofty 
and  smooth,  the  eyebrows  thin  and  greatly  arched 
(the  envious  gallants  whispered  that  something  at 
least  of  their  curve  was  due  to  art,  as  was  also  the 
exceeding  smoothness  of  those  delicate  cheeks).  The 
face  was  somewhat  long  and  thin ;  the  nose  aquiline ; 
and  the  languid  mouth  showed,  perhaps,  too  much  of 
the  ivory  upper  teeth;  but  the  most  striking  point 
of  the  speaker's  appearance,  was  the  extraordinary 
brilliancy  of  his  complexion,  which  shamed  with  its 
whiteness  that  of  all  fair  ladies  round,  save  where 
open  on  each  cheek  a  bright  red  spot  gave  warning, 
as  did  the  long  thin  neck  and  the  taper  hands,  of  sad 
possibilities,  perhaps  not  far  off;  possibilities  which 
all  saw  with  an  inward  sigh,  except  she  whose  doting 
glances,  as  well  as  her  resemblance  to  the  fair  youth, 
proclaimed  her  at  once  his  mother,  Mrs.  Leigh  herself. 

Master  Frank^  for  he  it  was,  was  dressed  in  the 
very  extravagance  of  the  fashion, — not  so  much  from 
vanity,  as  from  that  delicate  instinct  of  self-respect 
which  would  keep  some  men  spruce  and  spotless  from 


62  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

one  year's  end  to  another  upon  a  desert  island ;  "for," 
as  Frank  used  to  say  in  his  sententious  way,  "  Mr. 
Frank  Leigh  at  least  beholds  me,  though  none  else 
be  by;  and  why  should  I  be  more  discourteous  to 
him  than  I  permit  others  to  be^  Be  sure  that  he 
who  is  a  Grobian  in  his  own  company,  will,  sooner  or 
later,  become  a  Grobian  in  that  of  his  friends." 

So  Mr.  Frank  was  arrayed  spotlessly;  but  after 
the  latest  fashion  of  Milan,  not  in  trunk  hose  and 
slashed  sleeves,  nor  in  "  French  standing  collar,  treble 
quadruple  dsedalian  ruff,  or  stiff-necked  rabato,  that 
had  more  arches  for  pride,  propped  up  with  wire  and 
timber,  than  five  London  Bridges;"  but  in  a  close- 
fitting  and  perfectly  plain  suit  of  dove-colour,  which 
set  off  cunningly  the  delicate  proportions  of  his  figure, 
and  the  delicate  hue  of  his  complexion,  which  was 
shaded  from  the  sun  by  a  broad  dove-coloured  Spanish 
hat,  with  feather  to  match,  looped  up  over  the  right 
ear  with  a  pearl  brooch,  and  therein  a  crowned  E, 
supposed  by  the  damsels  of  Bideford  to  stand  for 
Elizabeth,  which  was  whispered  to  be  the  gift  of 
some  most  illustrious  hand.  This  same  looping  up 
was  not  without  good  reason  and  purpose  prepense ; 
thereby  all  the  world  had  full  view  of  a  beautiful 
little  ear,  which  looked  as  if  it  had  been  cut  of  cameo, 
and  made,  as  my  Lady  Rich  once  told  him,  "to 
hearken  only  to  the  music  of  the  spheres,  or  to  the 
chants  of  cherubim."  Behind  the  said  ear  was  stuck 
a  fresh  rose ;  and  the  golden  hair  was  all  drawn 
smoothly  back  and  round  to  the  left  temple,  whence, 
tied  with  a  pink  ribbon  in  a  great  true  lover's  knot, 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  63 

a  mighty  love-lock,  "curled  as  it  had  been  laid  in 
press,"  rolled  down  low  upon  his  bosom.  Oh,  Frank! 
Frank !  have  you  come  out  on  purpose  to  break  the 
hearts  of  all  Bidef ord  burghers'  daughters  ?  And  if 
so,  did  you  expect  to  further  that  triumph  by  dyeing 
that  pretty  little  pointed  beard  (with  shame  I  report 
it)  of  a  bright  vermilion  1  But  we  know  you  better, 
Frank,  and  so  does  your  mother ;  and  you  are  but  a 
masquerading  angel  after  all,  in  spite  of  your  knots 
and  your  perfumes,  and  the  gold  chain  round  your 
neck  which  a  German  princess  gave  you;  and  the 
emerald  ring  on  your  right  fore-finger  which  Hatton 
gave  you ;  and  the  pair  of  perfumed  gloves  in  your 
left  which  Sidney's  sister  gave  you;  and  the  silver- 
hilted  Toledo  which  an  Italian  marquis  gave  you,  on 
a  certain  occasion  of  which  you  never  choose  to  talk, 
like  a  prudent  and  modest  gentleman  as  you  are : 
but  of  which  the  gossips  talk,  of  course,  all  the  more, 
and  whisper  that  you  saved  his  life  from  bravoes — 
a  dozen,  at  the  least ;  and  had  that  sword  for  your 
reward,  and  might  have  had  his  beautiful  sister's  hand 
beside,  and  I  know  not  what  else  :  but  that  you  had 
so  many  lady-loves  already  that  you  were  loth  to 
burden  yourself  with  a  fresh  one.  That,  at  least,  we 
know  to  be  a  lie,  fair  Frank;  for  your  heart  is  as 
pure  this  day  as  when  you  knelt  in  your  little  crib  at 
Burrough,  and  said — 

'  *  Four  corners  to  my  bed  ; 
Four  angels  round  my  head  ; 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
Bless  the  bed  that  I  He  on." 


64  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

And  who  could  doubt  it  (if  being  pure  themselves, 
they  have  instinctive  sympathy  with  what  is  pure), 
who  ever  looked  into  those  great  deep  blue  eyes  of 
yours,  "the  black  fringed  curtains  of  whose  azure 
lids,"  usually  down-dropt  as  if  in  deepest  thought,  you 
raise  slowly,  almost  wonderingly,  each  time  you  speak, 
as  if  awakening  from  some  fair  dream  whose  home  is 
rather  in  your  Platonical  "eternal  world  of  supra- 
sensible  forms,"  than  on  that  work-day  earth  wherein 
you  nevertheless  acquit  yourself  so  well  ?  There — I 
must  stop  describing  you,  or  I  shall  catch  the  infection 
of  your  own  Euphuism,  and  talk  of  you  as  you  would 
have  talked  of  Sidney,  or  of  Spenser,  or  of  that  Swan 

of  Avon,  whose  song  had  just  begun  when  yours 

but  I  will  not  anticipate ;  my  Lady  Bath  is  waiting 
to  give  you  her  rejoinder. 

"Ah,  my  silver-tongued  scholar!  and  are  you, 
then,  the  poet*?  or  have  you  been  drawing  on  the 
inexhaustible  bank  of  your  friend  Raleigh,  or  my 
cousin  Sidney  ?  or  has  our  new  Cygnet  Immerito  lent 
you  a  few  unpublished  leaves  from  some  fresh  Shep- 
herd's Calendar  f' 

"  Had  either,  madam,  of  that  cynosural  triad  been 
within  call  of  my  most  humble  importunities,  your 
ears  had  been  delectate  with  far  nobler  melody." 

"But  not  our  eyes  with  fairer  faces,  ehl  Well, 
you  have  chosen  your  nymphs,  and  had  good  store 
from  whence  to  pick,  I  doubt  not.  Few  young 
Dulcinas  round  but  must  have  been  glad  to  take  ser- 
vice under  so  renowned  a  captain  V 

"The  only  difficulty,  gracious  Countess,  has  been 


THE  FIEST  TIME.  65 

to  know  where  to  fix  the  wandering  choice  of  my  be- 
wildered eyes,  where  all  alike  are  fair,  and  all  alike 
facund." 

"  We  understand,"  said  she,  smiling ; — 

' '  Dan  Cupid,  choosing  'midst  his  mother's  graces, 
Himself  more  fair,  made  scorn  of  fairest  faces." 

The  young  scholar  capped  her  distich  forthwith, 

and  bowing  to  her  with  a  meaning  look, 

"  'Then,  Goddess,  turn,'  he  cried,  'and  veil  thy  light ; 
Blinded  by  thine,  what  eyes  can  choose  aright  ? ' " 

"Go,  saucy  sir,"  said  my  lady,  in  high  glee;  "the 
pageant  stays  your  supreme  pleasure." 

And  away  went  Mr.  Frank  as  master  of  the  revels, 
to  bring  up  the  'prentices'  pageant ;  while,  for  his  sake, 
the  nymph  of  Torridge  was  forgotten  for  awhile  by  all 
young  dames,  and  most  young  gentlemen;  and  his 
mother  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  which  Lady  Bath  over- 
hearing— 

"  What  ?  in  the  dum^^s,  good  madam,  while  all  are 
rejoicing  in  your  joy  1  Are  you  afraid  that  we  court 
dames  shall  turn  your  young  Adonis'  brain  for  himf 

"  I  do,  indeed,  fear  lest  your  condescension  should 
make  him  forget  that  he  is  only  a  poor  squire's  orphan." 

"  I  will  warrant  him  never  to  forget  aught  that  he 
should  recollect,"  said  my  Lady  Bath. 

And  she  spoke  truly.  But  soon  Frank's  silver 
voice  was  heard  calling  out, 

"  Eoom  there,  good  people,  for  the  gallant  'prentice 
lads!" 

And  on  they  came,  headed  by  a  giant  of  buckram 
and  pasteboard  armour,  forth  of  whose  stomach  looked, 

VOL.  I.  V  w.  H. 


66  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

like  a  clock-face  in  a  steeple,  a  human  visage,  to  be 
greeted,  as  was  the  fashion  then,  by  a  volley  of  quips 
and  puns  from  high  and  low. 

Young  Mr.  William  Gary,  of  Clovelly,  who  was 
the  wit  of  those  parts,  opened  the  fire  by  asking  him 
whether  he  were  Goliath,  Gogmagog,  or  Grantorto  in 
the  romance ;  for  giants'  names  always  began  with  a 
G.  To  which  the  giant's  stomach  answered  pretty 
surlily, — 

"  Mine  don't ;  I  begin  with  an  0." 

"Then  thou  criest  out  before  thou  art  hurt,  O 
cowardly  giant ! " 

"Let  me  out,  lads,"  quoth  the  irascible  visage, 
struggling  in  his  buckram  prison,  "  and  I  soon  show 
him  whether  I  be  a  coward." 

"  Nay,  if  thou  get  test  out  of  thyself,  thou  wouldst 
be  beside  thyself,  and  so  wert  but  a  mad  giant." 

"  And  that  were  pity,"  said  Lady  Bath ;  "  for  by  the 
romances,  giants  have  never  over  much  wit  to  spare." 

"Mercy,  dear  Lady!"  said  Frank,  "and  let  the 
giant  begin  with  an  O." 

"A " 

"  A  false  start,  giant !  you  were  to  begin  with  an 
O." 

"  I'll  make  you  end  with  an  O,  Mr.  William  Gary  !" 
roared  the  testy  tower  of  buckram. 

"And  so  I  do,  for  I  end  with  'Fico  !'" 

"  Be  mollified,  sweet  giant,"  said  Frank,  "  and  spare 
the  rash  youth  of  yon  foolish  Knight.  Shall  elephants 
catch  flies,  or  Hurlo-Thrumbo  stain  his  club  with 
brains  of  Dagonet  the  jester^     Be  moUified;   leave 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  67 

thy  caverned  grumblings,  like  Etna  when  its  windy 
wrath  is  past,  and  discourse  eloquence  from  thy  central 
omphalos,  like  Pythoness  ventriloquising." 

"If    you    do   begin    laughing    at    me    too,    Mr. 

Leigh "  said  the  giant's  clock-face,  in  a  piteous 

tone. 

"  I  laugh  not.  Art  thou  not  Ordulf  the  earl,  and 
I  thy  humblest  squire?  Speak  up,  my  Lord;  your 
cousin,  my  Lady  Bath,  commands  you." 

And  at  last  the  giant  began : — 

"  A  giant  I,  Eaii  Ordulf  men  me  call, — 
'Gainst  Pajniim  foes  Devonia's  champion  tall  : 
In  single  fight  six  thousand  Turks  I  slew  ; 
PuU'd  off  a  lion's  head,  and  ate  it  too  : 
With  one  shrewd  blow,  to  let  Saint  Edward  in, 
I  smote  the  gates  of  Exeter  in  twain  ; 
Till  aged  gi'own,  by  angels  warn'd  in  dream, 
I  built  an  abbey  fair  by  Tavy  stream. 
But  treacherous  time  hath  tripp'd  my  glories  up, 
The  staunch  old  hound  must  yield  to  stauncher  pup  ; 
Here's  one  so  tall  as  I,  and  twice  so  bold, 
Where  I  took  only  cuffs,  takes  good  red  gold. 
From  pole  to  pole  resound  his  wondrous  works, 
Wlio  slew  more  Spaniards  than  I  ere  slew  Turks  ; 
I  strode  across  the  Tavy  stream :  but  he 
Strode  round  the  world  and  back  ;  and  here  'a  be  !" 

"  Oh,  bathos !"  said  Lady  Bath,  while  the  'prentices 
shouted  applause.  "Is  this  hedgebantling  to  be 
fathered  on  you,  Mr.  Frank  ■?" 

"  It  is  necessary,  by  all  laws  of  the  drama,  Madam," 
said  Frank,  with  a  sly  smile,  "that  the  speech  and 
the  speaker  shall  fit  each  other.  Pass  on.  Earl  Ordulf ; 
a  more  learned  worthy  waits." 

Whereon,  up  came  a  fresh  member  of  the  pro- 


68  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

cession ;  namely,  no  less  a  i^erson  than  Vindex 
Brimblecombe,  the  ancient  schoolmaster,  with  five-and- 
forty  boys  at  his  heels,  who  halting,  pulled  out  his 
spectacles,  and  thus  signified  his  forgiveness  of  his 
whilome  broken  head  : — 

"  That  the  world  should  have  been  circumnavigated, 
ladies  and  gentles,  were  matter  enough  of  jubilation  to 

the  student  of  Herodotus  and  Plato,  Plinius  and 

ahem:  much  more  when  the  circumnavigators  are 
Britons;  more,  again,  when  Damnonians." 

"  Don't  swear,  master,"  said  young  Will  Gary. 

"Gulielme  Gary,  Gulielme  Gary,  hast  thou  for- 
gotten thy " 

"  Whippings  1  Never,  old  lad  !  Go  on ;  but  let 
not  the  licence  of  the  scholar  overtop  the  modesty  of 
the  Ghristian." 

"  More  again,  as  I  said,  when,  incolce,  inhabitants  of 
Devon ;  but,  most  of  all,  men  of  Bideford  School.  Oh 
renowned  school !  Oh  schoolboys  ennobled  by  fellow- 
ship with  him  !  Oh  most  happy  pedagogue,  to  whom 
it  has  befallen  to  have  chastised  a  circumnavigator,  and, 
like  another  Chiron,  trained  another  Hercules :  yet 
more  than  Hercules,  for  he  placed  his  pillars  on  the 
ocean  shore,  and  then  returned;  but  my  scholar's 
voyage " 

"Hark  how  the  old  fox  is  j^raising  himself  all 
along  on  the  sly,"  said  Gary. 

"  Mr.  William,  Mr.  William,  peace ; — silentium,  my 
graceless  pupil.  Urge  the  foaming  steed,  and  strike 
terror  into  the  rapid  stag,  but  meddle  not  with 
matters  too  high  for  thee." 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  69 

"He  has  given  you  the  dor  now,  sir,"  said  Lady 
Bath  j  "let  the  old  man  say  his  say." 

"I  bring,  therefore,  as  my  small  contribution  to 
this  day's  feast ;  first  a  Latin  epigram,  as  thus " 

"  Latin  ?    Let  us  hear  it  forthwith,"  cried  my  Lady. 

And  the  old  pedant  mouthed  out, — 

*'  Torriguiam  Tamaris  ne  spernat ;  Leighius  addet 
Mox  terras  terris,  inclyte  Drake,  tuis. " 

"Neat,  r  faith,  la!"  Whereon  all  the  rest,  as  in 
duty  bound,  approved  also. 

"  This  for  the  erudite :  for  vulgar  ears  the  ver- 
nacular is  more  consonant,  S3anpathetic,  instructive; 
as  thus : — 

' '  Famed  Argo   ship,    that  noble  chip,   by  doughty   Jason's 

steering, 
Brought  back  to  Greece  the  golden  fleece,  from  Colchis  home 

careering ; 
But  now  her  fame  is  put  to  shame,  while  new  Devonian  Argo, 
Round  earth  doth  run  in  wake  of  sun,  and  brings  a  wealthier 

cargo." 

"  Runs  with  a  right  fa-lal-la,"  observed  Gary ;  "  and 
would  go  nobly  to  a  fiddle  and  a  big  drum." 

**  Ye  Spaniards,  quake  !  our  doughty  Drake  a  royal  swan  is 

tested, 
On  wing  and  oar,  from  shore  to  shore,  the  raging  main  who 

breasted : — 
But  never  needs  to  chant  his  deeds,  like  swan  that  lies 

a-dying, 
So  far  his  name  by  trump  of  fame,  around  the  sphere  is 

flying." 

"Hillo  ho!  schoolmaster!"  shouted  a  voice  from 
behmd ;  "  move  on,  and  make  way  for  father  Neptune ! " 


70  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

Whereon  a  whole  storm  of  raillery  fell  upon  the  hap- 
less pedagogue. 

"We  waited  for  the  parson's  alligator,  but  we 
wain't  for  your'n." 

"Allegory!  my  children,  allegory!"  shrieked  the 
man  of  letters.  >    • 

"  What  do  ye  call  he  an  alligator  for "?  He  is  but 
a  poor  little  starved  evat !" 

"  Out  of  the  road,  Old  Custis !  March  on,  Don 
Palmado!" 

These  allusions  to  the  usual  instrument  of  torture 
in  west  country  schools  made  the  old  gentleman 
wince ;  especially  when  they  were  followed  home  by — 

"Who  stole  Admiral  Grenvile's  brooms,  because 
birch  rods  were  dearf' 

But  proudly  he  shook  his  bald  head,  as  a  bull 
shakes  off  the  flies,  and  returned  to  the  charge  once 
more. 

* '  Great  Alexander,  famed  commander,  wept  and  made  a  pother, 
At  conquering  only  half  the  world,  but  Drake  had  conquer'd 

t'other  ; 
And  Hercules  to  brink  of  seas  ! " 

"Oh! " 

And  clapping  both  hands  to  the  back  of  his  neck, 
the  schoolmaster  began  dancing  frantically  about,  while 
his  boys  broke  out  tittering,  "  0  !  the  ochidore  !  look 
to  the  blue  ochidore  !  Who've  put  ochidore  to  mais- 
ter'spoUr' 

It  was  too  true :  neatly  inserted,  as  he  stooped 
forward,  between  his  neck  and  his  collar,  was  a  large 
live  shore-crab,  holding  on  tight  with  both  hands. 


THE  FIEST  TIME.  71 

"  Gentles !  good  Christians  !  save  me  !  I  am  mare- 
rode  !  Incuho,  vel  ah  incubo^  opprimorf  Satanas  has  me 
by  the  poll !  Help  !  he  tears  my  jugular ;  he  wrings 
my  neck,  as  he  does  to  Dr.  Faustus  in  the  play.  Gon- 
fiteor  ! — I  confess !  Satan,  I  defy  thee !  Good  people, 
I  confess  !  Bao-avtfo/xat !  The  truth  will  out.  Mr. 
Francis  Leigh  wrote  the  epigram  1 "  And  diving 
through  the  crowd,  the  pedagogue  vanished  howling, 
while  Father  Neptune,  crowned  with  sea-weeds,  a 
trident  in  one  hand,  and  a  live  dog-fish  in  the  other, 
swaggered  up  the  street,  surrounded  by  a  tall  body- 
guard of  mariners,  and  followed  by  a  great  banner, 
on  which  was  depicted  a  globe,  with  Drake's  ship 
sailing  thereon  upside  down,  and  overwritten — 

**  See  every  man  the  Pelican, 

Which  round  the  world  did  go, 
While  her  stern-post  was  uppermost, 

And  topmasts  down  below. 
And  by  the  way  she  lost  a  day, 

Out  of  her  log  was  stole  : 
But  Neptune  kind,  with  favouring  wind, 

Hath  brought  her  safe  and  whole." 

"Now,  lads!"  cried  Neptune;  "hand  me  my  par- 
able that's  writ  for  me,  and  here  goeth ! "  And  at 
the  top  of  his  bull-voice,  he  began  roaring, — 

"  I  am  King  Keptune  bold, 
The  ruler  of  the  seas  ; 
I  don't  understand  much  singing  upon  land, 
But  I  hope  what  I  say  will  please. 

"  Here  be  five  Bideford  men, 

Which  have  sail'd  the  world  around, 
And  I  watch'd  them  well,  as  they  all  can  tell, 
And  brought  them  home  safe  and  sound. 


72  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

*  *  For  it  is  the  men  of  Devon. 
To  see  them  I  take  delight, 
Both  to  tack  and  to  hull,  and  to  heave  and  to  pull, 
And  to  prove  themselves  in  fight. 

'  *  Where  be  those  Spaniards  proud, 
That  make  their  valiant  boasts  ; 
And  think  for  to  keep  the  poor  Indians  for  their  sheep, 
And  to  farm  my  golden  coasts  ? 

"  'Twas  the  devil  and  the  Pope  gave  them 
My  kingdom  for  their  own  : 
But  my  nephew  Francis  Drake,  he  caused  them  to  quake. 
And  he  pick'd  them  to  the  bone. 

"  For  the  sea  my  realm  it  is. 

As  good  Queen  Bess's  is  the  land  ; 
So  freely  come  again,  all  merry  Devon  men, 
And  there's  old  Neptune's  hand. " 

"  Holla,  boys  !  holla !  Blow  up,  Triton,  and  bring 
forward  the  freedom  of  the  seas." 

Triton,  roaring  through  a  conch,  brought  forward 
a  cockle-shell  full  of  salt-water,  and  delivered  it 
solemnly  to  Amyas,  who,  of  course,  put  a  noble  into 
it,  and  returned  it  after  Grenvile  had  done  the  same. 

"Holla,  Dick  Admiral!"  cried  Neptune,  who  was 
pretty  far  gone  in  liquor;  "we  knew  thou  hadst  a 
right  English  heart  in  thee,  for  all  thou  standest  there 
as  taut  as  a  Don  who  has  swallowed  his  rapier." 

"  Grammercy,  stop  thy  bellowing,  fellow,  and  on ; 
for  thou  smellest  vilely  of  fish." 

"  Everything  smells  sweet  in  its  right  place.  I'm 
going  home." 

"  I  thought  thou  wert  there  all  along,  being  already 
half-seas  over,"  said  Cary. 

"  Ay,  right  Upsee-Dutch ;   and  that's  more  than 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  73 

thou  ever  wilt  be,  thou  'long-shore  stay-at-home. 
Why  wast  making  sheep's  eyes  at  Mistress  Salterne 
here,  while  my  pretty  little  chuck  of  Burrough  there 
was  playing  at  shove-groat  with  Spanish  doubloons  f 

"Go  to  the  devil,  sirrah!"  said  Gary.  Neptune 
had  touched  on  a  sore  subject ;  and  more  cheeks  than 
Amyas  Leigh's  reddened  at  the  hint. 

"Amen,  if  heaven  so  please!"  and  on  rolled  the 
monarch  of  the  seas ;  and  so  the  pageant  ended. 

The  moment  Amyas  had  an  opportunity,  he  asked 
his  brother  Frank,  somewhat  peevishly,  where  Rose 
Salterne  was. 

"  What !  the  mayor's  daughter  *?  With  her  uncle, 
by  Kilkhampton,  I  believe." 

Now  cunning  Master  Frank,  whose  daily  wish  was 
to  "seek  peace  and  ensue  it,"  told  Amyas  this,  be- 
cause he  must  needs  speak  the  truth :  but  he  was 
purposed  at  the  same  time  to  speak  as  little  truth 
as  he  could,  for  fear  of  accidents;  and,  therefore, 
omitted  to  tell  his  brother  how  that  he,  two  days 
before,  had  entreated  Rose  Salterne  herself  to  appear 
as  the  nymph  of  Torridge;  which  honour  she,  who 
had  no  objection  either  to  exhibit  her  pretty  face,  to 
recite  pretty  poetry,  or  to  be  trained  thereto  by  the 
cynosure  of  North  Devon,  would  have  assented  will- 
ingly, but  that  her  father  stopped  the  pretty  project 
by  a  peremptory  countermove,  and  packed  her  off, 
in  spite  of  her  tears,  to  the  said  uncle  on  the  At- 
lantic cliffs;  after  which  he  went  up  to  Burrough, 
and  laughed  over  the  whole  matter  with  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  I  am  but  a  burgher,  Mrs.  Leigh,  and  you  a  lady 


74  HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME 

of  blood ;  but  I  am  too  proud  to  let  any  man  say  that 
Simon  Salterne  threw  his  daughter  at  your  son's  head ; 
— no ;  not  if  you  were  an  empress ! " 

"And,  to  speak  truth,  Mr.  Salterne,  there  are 
young  gallants  enough  in  the  country  quarrelling 
about  her  pretty  face  every  day,  without  making  her 
a  tourney-queen  to  tilt  about." 

Which  was  very  true ;  for  during  the  three  years 
of  Amyas's  absence,  Eose  Salterne  had  grown  into  so 
beautiful  a  girl  of  eighteen,  that  half  North  Devon 
was  mad  about  the  "Eose  of  Torridge,"  as  she  was 
called;  and  there  was  not  a  young  gallant  for  ten 
miles  round  (not  to  speak  of  her  father's  clerks  and 
'prentices,  who  moped  about  after  her  like  so 
many  Malvolios,  and  treasured  up  the  very  parings  of 
her  nails)  who  would  not  have  gone  to  Jerusalem  to 
win  her.  So  that  all  along  the  vales  of  Torridge  and 
of  Taw,  and  even  away  to  Clovelly  (for  young  Mr. 
Cary  was  one  of  the  sick),  not  a  gay  bachelor  but  was 
frowning  on  his  fellows,  and  vieing  with  them  in  the 
fashion  of  his  clothes,  the  set  of  his  ruffs,  the  harness 
of  his  horse,  the  carriage  of  his  hawks,  the  pattern  of 
his  sword-hilt;  and  those  were  golden  days  for  all 
tailors  and  armourers,  from  Exmoor  to  Okehampton 
town.  But  of  all  those  foolish  young  lads  not  one 
would  speak  to  the  other,  either  out  hunting,  or  at 
the  archery  butts,  or  in  the  tilt-yard ;  and  my  Lady 
Bath  (who  confessed  that  there  was  no  use  in  bringing 
out  her  daughters  where  Eose  Salterne  was  in  the 
way)  prophesied  in  her  classical  fashion  that  Eose's 
wedding  bid  fair  to  be  a  very  bridal  of  Atalanta,  and 


THE  FIRST  TIME.  75 

feast  of  the  Lapithae ;  and  poor  Mr.  Will  Gary  (who 
always  blurted  out  the  truth),  when  Old  Salterne  once 
asked  him  angrily,  in  Bideford  Market,  "What  a 
plague  business  had  he  making  sheep's  eyes  at  his 
daughter?"  broke  out  before  all  bystanders,  "And 
what  a  plague  business  had  you,  old  boy,  to  throw 
such  an  apple  of  discord  into  our  merry  meetings 
hereabouts  1  If  you  choose  to  have  such  a  daughter, 
you  must  take  the  consequences,  and  be  hanged  to 
you."  To  which  Mr.  Salterne  answered  with  some 
truth,  "  That  she  was  none  of  his  choosing,  nor  of  Mr. 
Gary's  neither."  And  so  the  dor  being  given,  the 
belligerents  parted  laughing,  but  the  war  remained  in 
statu  quo ;  and  not  a  week  passed  but,  by  mysterious 
hands,  some  nosegay,  or  languishing  sonnet,  was  con- 
veyed into  The  Eose's  chamber,  all  which  she  stowed 
away,  with  the  simplicity  of  a  country  girl,  finding  it 
mighty  pleasant;  and  took  all  compliments  quietly 
enough,  probably  because,  on  the  authority  of  her 
mirror,  she  considered  them  no  more  than  her  due. 

And,  now,  to  add  to  the  general  confusion,  home 
was  come  young  Amyas  Leigh,  more  desperately  in 
love  with  her  than  ever.  For,  as  is  the  way  with 
sailors  (who  after  all  are  the  truest  lovers,  as  they 
are  the  finest  fellows,  God  bless  them,  upon  earth), 
his  lonely  ship-watches  had  been  spent  in  imprinting 
on  his  imagination,  month  after  month,  year  after 
year,  every  feature  and  gesture  and  tone  of  the  fair 
lass  whom  he  had  left  beliind  him ;  and  that  all  the 
more  intensely,  because,  beside  his  mother,  he  had  no 
one  else  to  think  of,  and  was  as  pure  as  the  day  he 


76       HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME  THE  FIRST  TIME. 

was  born,  having  been  trained  as  many  a  brave  young 
man  was  then,  to  look  upon  profligacy  not  as  a  proof 
of  manhood,  but  as  what  the  old  Germans,  and  those 
Gortyneans  who  crowned  the  offender  with  wool,  knew 
it  to  be,  a  cowardly  and  effeminate  sin. 


-     CHAPTER  III. 

OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN  OF  WALES,  AND  HOW  THEY 
HUNTED  WITH  THE  HOUNDS,  AND  YET  RAN  WITH 
THE  DEER. 

"  I  know  that  Deformed ;  he  has  been  a  vile  thief  this  seven 
year  ;  he  goes  up  and  down  like  a  gentleman  :  I  remember 
his  name." — Much  Ado  about  Nothing. 

Amyas  slept  that  night  a  tired  and  yet  a  troubled 
sleep ;  and  his  mother  and  Frank,  as  they  bent  over 
his  pillow,  could  see  that  his  brain  was  busy  with 
many  dreams. 

And  no  wonder ;  for  over  and  above  all  the  excite- 
ment of  the  day,  the  recollection  of  John  Oxenham 
had  taken  strange  possession  of  his  mind;  and  all 
that  evening,  as  he  sat  in  the  bay-windowed  room 
where  he  had  seen  him  last,  Amyas  was  recalling  to 
himself  every  look  and  gesture  of  the  lost  adventurer, 
and  wondering  at  himself  for  so  doing,  till  he  retired 
to  sleep,  only  to  renew  the  fancy  in  his  dreams.  At 
last  he  found  himself,  he  knew  not  how,  sailing  west- 
ward ever,  up  the  wake  of  the  setting  sun,  in  chase  of 
a  tiny  sail,  which  was  John  Oxenham's.  Upon  him 
was  a  painful  sense  that,  unless  he  came  up  with  her 
in  time,  something  fearful  would  come  to  pass :  but 
the  ship  would  not  sail.     All  around  floated  the  sar- 


78  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

gasso  beds,  clogging  her  bows  with  their  long  snaky 
coils  of  weed ;  and  still  he  tried  to  sail,  and  tried  to 
fancy  that  he  was  sailing,  till  the  sun  went  down,  and 
all  was  utter  dark.  And  then  the  moon  arose,  and  in 
a  moment  John  Oxenham's  ship  was  close  abroad;  her 
sails  were  torn  and  fluttering ;  the  pitch  was  streaming 
from  her  sides ;  her  bulwarks  were  rotting  to  decay. 
And  what  was  that  line  of  dark  objects  dangling  along 
the  main-yard  1 — A  line  of  hanged  men  !  And,  horror 
of  horrors,  from  the  yard-arm  close  above  him,  John 
Oxenham's  corpse  looked  down  with  grave-light  eyes, 
and  beckoned  and  pointed,  as  if  to  show  him  his  way, 
and  strove  to  speak,  and  could  not,  and  pointed  still, 
not  forward,  but  back  along  their  course.  And  when 
Amyas  looked  back,  behold,  behind  him  was  the  snow 
range  of  the  Andes  glittering  in  the  moon,  and  he 
knew  that  he  was  in  the  South  Seas  once  more,  and 
that  all  America  was  between  him  and  home.  And 
still  the  corpse  kept  pointing  back,  and  back,  and 
looking  at  him  with  yearning  eyes  of  agony,  and  lips 
which  longed  to  tell  some  awful  secret ;  till  he  sprang 
up,  and  woke  "vvith  a  shout  of  terror,  and  found  himself 
lying  in  the  little  coved  chamber  in  dear  old  Burrough, 
with  the  grey  autumn  morning  already  stealing  in. 

Feverish  and  excited,  he  tried  in  vain  to  sleep 
again ;  and  after  an  hour's  tossing,  rose  and  dressed, 
and  started  for  a  bathe  on  his  beloved  old  pebble 
ridge.  As  he  passed  his  mother's  door,  he  could  not 
help  looking  in.  The  dim  light  of  morning  showed 
him  the  bed  ;  but  its  pillow  had  not  been  pressed  that 
night.      His  mother,  in  her  long  white  night-dress. 


OF  WALES.  79 

was  kneeling  at  the  other  end  of  the  chamber  at  her 
prie-dieu,  absorbed  in  devotion.  Gently  he  slipped  in 
without  a  word,  and  knelt  down  at  her  side.  She 
turned,  smiled,  passed  her  arm  around  him,  and  went 
on  silently  with  her  prayers.  Why  not  1  They  were 
for  him,  and  he  knew  it,  and  prayed  also ;  and  his 
prayers  were  for  her,  and  for  poor  lost  John  Oxenham, 
and  all  his  vanished  crew. 

At  last  she  rose,  and  standing  above  him,  parted 
the  yellow  locks  from  off  his  brow,  and  looked  long 
and  lovingly  into  his  face.  There  was  nothing  to  be 
spoken,  for  there  was  nothing  to  be  concealed  between 
these  two  souls  as  clear  as  glass.  Each  knew  all  which 
the  other  meant ;  each  knew  that  its  own  thoughts 
were  known.  At  last  the  mutual  gaze  was  over ;  she 
stooped  and  kissed  him  on  the  brow,  and  was  in  the 
act  to  turn  away,  as  a  tear  dropped  on  his  forehead. 
Her  little  bare  feet  were  peeping  out  from  under  her 
dress.  He  bent  down  and  kissed  them  again  and 
again ;  and  then  looking  up,  as  if  to  excuse  himself, — 

"You  have  such  pretty  feet,  mother !" 

Instantly,  with  a  woman's  instinct,  she  had  hidden 
them.  She  had  been  a  beauty  once,  as  I  said ;  and 
though  her  hair  was  grey,  and  her  roses  had  faded 
long  ago,  she  was  beautiful  still,  in  all  eyes  which  saw 
deeper  than  the  mere  outward  red  and  white. 

"Your  dear  father  used  to  say  so,  thirty  years 
ago." 

"  And  I  say  so  still :  you  always  were  beautiful ; 
you  are  beautiful  now." 

"What  is  that  to  you,  silly  boy*?    Will  you  play 


80  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

the  lover  with  an  old  mother  1  Go  and  take  your 
walk,  and  think  of  younger  ladies,  if  you  can  find  any 
worthy  of  you." 

And  so  the  son  went  forth,  and  the  mother  returned 
to  her  prayers. 

He  walked  down  to  the  pebble  ridge,  where  the 
surges  of  the  bay  have  defeated  their  own  fury,  by 
rolling  up  in  the  course  of  ages  a  rampart  of  grey 
boulder-stones,  some  two  miles  long,  as  cunningly 
curved,  and  smoothed,  and  fitted,  as  if  the  work  had 
been  done  by  human  hands,  which  protects  from  the 
high  tides  of  spring  and  autumn  a  fertile  sheet  of 
smooth,  alluvial  turf.  Sniffing  the  keen  salt  air  like  a 
young  sea-dog,  he  stripped  and  plunged  into  the 
breakers,  and  dived,  and  rolled,  and  tossed  about  the 
foam  with  stalwart  arms,  till  he  heard  himself  hailed 
from  off"  the  shore,  and  looking  up,  saw  standing  on 
the  top  of  the  rampart  the  tall  figure  of  his  cousin 
Eustace. 

Amyas  was  half-disappointed  at  his  coming ;  for, 
love-lorn  rascal,  he  had  been  dreaming  all  the  way 
thither  of  Rose  Salteme,  and  had  no  wish  for  a  com- 
panion who  would  prevent  his  dreaming  of  her  all  the 
way  back.  Nevertheless,  not  having  seen  Eustace  for 
three  years,  it  was  but  civil  to  scramble  out  and  dress, 
while  his  cousin  walked  up  and  down  upon  the  turf 
inside. 

Eustace  Leigh  was  the  son  of  a  younger  brother  of 
Leigh  of  Burrough,  who  had  more  or  less  cut  himself 
off  from  his  family,  and  indeed  from  his  countrymen, 
by  remaining  a  Papist.     True,  though  born  a  Papist, 


OF  WALES.  81 

he  had  not  always  been  one;  for,  like  many  of  the 
gentry,  he  had  become  a  Protestant  under  Edward  the 
Sixth,  and  then  a  Papist  again  under  Mary.  But,  to 
his  honour  be  it  said,  at  that  point  he  had  stopped, 
having  too  much  honesty  to  turn  Protestant  a  second 
time,  as  hundreds  did,  at  Elizabeth's  accession.  So  a 
Papist  he  remained,  living  out  of  the  way  of  the  world 
in  a  great,  rambling,  dark  house,  still  called  "  Chapel," 
on  the  Atlantic  cliffs,  in  Moorwinstow  parish,  not  far 
from  Sir  Eichard  Grenvile's  house  of  Stow.  The 
penal  laws  never  troubled  him ;  for,  in  the  first  place, 
they  never  troubled  any  one  who  did  not  make  con- 
spiracy and  rebellion  an  integral  doctrine  of  his  religi- 
ous creed ;  and  next,  they  seldom  troubled  even  them, 
unless,  fired  with  the  glory  of  martyrdom,  they  bullied 
the  long-suffering  of  Elizabeth  and  her  council  into 
giving  them  their  deserts,  and,  like  poor  Father  South- 
well in  after  years,  insisted  on  being  hanged,  whether 
Burleigh  liked  or  not.  Moreover,  in  such  a  no-man's- 
land  and  end-of-all-the-earth  was  that  old  house  at 
Moorwinstow,  that  a  dozen  conspiracies  might  have 
been  hatched  there  without  any  one  hearing  of  it ;  and 
Jesuits  and  seminary  priests  skulked  in  and  out  all  the 
year  round,  unquestioned  though  unblest ;  and  found 
a  sort  of  piquant  pleasure,  like  naughty  boys  who 
have  crept  into  the  store-closet,  in  living  in  mysterious 
little  dens  in  a  lonely  turret,  and  going  up  through  a 
trap-door  to  celebrate  mass  in  a  secret  chamber  in  the 
roof,  where  they  were  allowed  by  the  powers  that 
were  to  play  as  much  as  they  chose  at  persecuted 
saints,  and  preach  about  hiding  in  dens  and  caves  of 
VOL.  L  c,  w.  H. 


82  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

the  earth.  For  once,  when  the  zealous  parson  of 
Moorwinstow,  having  discovered  (what  everybody 
knew  already)  the  existence  of  "mass  priests  and  their 
idolatry"  at  Chapel  house,  made  formal  complaint 
thereof  to  Sir  Eichard,  and  called  on  him,  as  the 
nearest  justice  of  the  peace,  to  put  in  force  the  Act  of 
the  fourteenth  of  Elizabeth,  that  worthy  knight  only 
rated  him  soundly  for  a  fantastical  puritan,  and  bade 
him  mind  his  own  business,  if  he  wished  not  to  make 
the  place  too  hot  for  him ;  whereon  (for  the  temporal 
authorities,  happily  for  the  peace  of  England,  kept  in 
those  days  a  somewhat  tight  hand  upon  the  spiritual 
ones)  the  worthy  parson  subsided, — for,  after  all,  Mr. 
Thomas  Leigh  paid  his  tithes  regularly  enough, — and 
was  content,  as  he  expressed  it,  to  bow  his  head  in  the 
house  of  Rimmon  like  Naaman  of  old,  by  eating  Mr. 
Leigh's  dinners  as  often  as  he  was  invited,  and  ignor- 
ing the  vocation  of  old  Father  Francis,  who  sat 
opposite  to  him,  dressed  as  a  layman,  and  calling 
himself  the  young  gentleman's  pedagogue. 

But  the  said  birds  of  ill  omen  had  a  very  consider- 
able lien  on  the  conscience  of  poor  Mr.  Thomas  Leigh, 
the  father  of  Eustace,  in  the  form  of  certain  lands 
once  belonging  to  the  Abbey  of  Hartland.  He  more 
than  half  believed  that  he  should  be  lost  for  holding 
those  lands ;  but  he  did  not  believe  it  wholly,  and, 
therefore,  he  did  not  give  them  up ;  which  was  the 
case,  as  poor  Mary  Tudor  found  to  her  sorrow,  with 
most  of  her  "  Catholic "  subjects,  whose  consciences, 
while  they  compelled  them  to  return  to  the  only  safe 
fold  of  Mother  Church  {extra  qimm  nulla  salus),  by  no 


OF  WALES.  83 

means  compelled  them  to  disgorge  the  wealth  of  which 
they  had  plundered  that  only  hope  of  their  salvation. 
Most  of  them,  however,  like  poor  Tom  Leigh,  felt  the 
abbey  rents  burn  in  their  purses ;  and,  as  John  Bull 
generally  does  in  a  difficulty,  compromised  the  matter 
by  a  second  folly  (as  if  two  wrong  things  made  one 
right  one)  and  petted  foreign  priests,  and  listened,  or 
pretended  not  to  listen,  to  their  plottings  and  their 
practisings ;  and  gave  up  a  son  here,  and  a  son  there, 
as  a  sort  of  a  sin-ofFering  and  scape-goat,  to  be  carried 
off  to  Douay,  or  Kheims,  or  Eome,  and  trained  as  a 
seminary  priest ;  in  plain  English,  to  be  taught  the 
science  of  villany,  on  the  motive  of  superstitioa  One 
of  such  hapless  scape-goats,  and  children  who  had 
been  cast  into  the  fire  to  Moloch,  was  Eustace  Leigh, 
whom  his  father  had  sent,  giving  the  fruit  of  his  body 
for  the  sin  of  his  soul,  to  be  made  a  liar  of  at  Eheims. 
And  a  very  fair  liar  he  had  become.  Not  that  the 
lad  was  a  bad  fellow  at  heart ;  but  he  had  been  chosen 
by  the  harpies  at  home,  on  account  of  his  "  peculiar 
vocation;"  in  plain  English,  because  the  wily  priests 
had  seen  in  him  certain  capacities  of  vague  hysterical 
fear  of  the  unseen  (the  religious  sentiment,  we  call  it 
now-a-days),  and  with  them  that  tendency  to  be  a 
rogue,  which  superstitious  men  always  have.  He  was 
now  a  tall,  handsome,  light-complexioned  man,  with 
a  huge  upright  forehead,  a  very  small  mouth,  and  a 
dry  and  set  expression  of  face,  which  was  always 
trying  to  get  free,  or  rather  to  seem  free,  and  indulge 
in  smiles  and  dimples,  which  were  proper;  for  one 
ought  to  have  Christian  love,  and  if  one  had  love  one 


84  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

ought  to  be  cheerful,  and  when  people  were  cheerful 
they  smiled ;  and  therefore  he  would  smile,  and  tried 
to  do  so ;  but  his  charity  prepense  looked  no  more 
alluring  than  malice  prepense  would  have  done ;  and, 
had  he  not  been  really  a  handsome  fellow,  many  a 
woman  who  raved  about  his  sweetness  would  have 
likened  his  frankness  to  that  of  a  skeleton  dancing  in 
fetters,  and  his  smiles  to  the  grins  thereof. 

He  had  returned  to  England  about  a  month  before, 
in  obedience  to  the  proclamation  which  had  been  set 
forth  for  that  purpose  (and  certainly  not  before  it  was 
needed),  that,  "whosoever  had  children,  wards,  etc., 
in  the  parts  beyond  the  seas,  should  send  in  their 
names  to  the  ordinary,  and  within  four  months  call 
them  home  again."  So  Eustace  was  now  staying 
with  his  father  at  Chapel,  having,  nevertheless,  his 
private  matters  to  transact  on  behalf  of  the  virtuous 
society  by  whom  he  had  been  brought  up;  one  of 
which  private  matters  had  brought  him  to  Bideford 
the  night  before. 

So  he  sat  down  beside  Amyas  on  the  pebbles,  and 
looked  at  him  all  over  out  of  the  corners  of  his  eyes 
very  gently,  as  if  he  did  not  wish  to  hurt  him,  or  even 
the  flies  on  his  back ;  and  Amyas  faced  right  round, 
and  looked  him  full  in  the  face,  with  the  heartiest  of 
smiles,  and  held  out  a  lion's  paw,  which  Eustace  took 
rapturously,  and  a  great  shaking  of  hands  ensued; 
Amyas  gripping  with  a  great  round  fist,  and  a  quiet 
quiver  thereof,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  I  am  glad  to  see 
you;"  and  Eustace  pinching  hard  with  quite  straight 
fingers,  and  sawing  the  air  violently  up  and  down,  as 


OF  WALES.  85 

much  as  to  say,  "  DonH  you  see  how  glad  I  am  to  see 
you '?"     A  very  different  greeting  from  the  former. 

"Hold  hard,  old  lad,"  said  Amyas,  "before  you 
break  my  elbow.     And  where  do  you  come  from  ?" 

"From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from 
walking  up  and  down  in  it,"  said  he,  with  a  little 
smile  and  nod  of  mysterious  self-importance. 

"Like  the  devil,  eh?  Well,  every  man  has  his 
pattern.     How  is  my  uncle  ?" 

Now,  if  there  was  one  man  on  earth  above  another, 
of  whom  Eustace  Leigh  stood  in  dread,  it  was  his 
cousin  Amyas.  In  the  first  place,  he  knew  Amyas 
could  have  killed  him  with  a  blow;  and  there  are 
natures,  who,  instead  of  rejoicing  in  the  strength 
of  men  of  greater  prowess  than  themselves,  look  at 
such  with  irritation,  dread,  at  last,  spite ;  expecting, 
perhaps,  that  the  stronger  will  do  to  them  what 
they  feel  they  might  have  done  in  his  place.  Every 
one,  perhaps,  has  the  same  envious,  cowardly  devil 
haunting  about  his  heart ;  but  the  brave  men,  though 
they  be  very  sparrows,  kick  him  out;  the  cowards 
keep  him,  and  foster  him ;  and  so  did  poor  Eustace 
Leigh. 

Next,  he  could  not  help  feeling  that  Amyas  despised 
him.  They  had  not  met  for  three  years ;  but  before 
Amyas  went,  Eustace  never  could  argue  with  him; 
simply  because  Amyas  treated  him  as  beneath  argu- 
ment. No  doubt  he  was  often  rude  and  unfair 
enough ;  but  the  whole  mass  of  questions  concerning 
the  unseen  world,  which  the  priests  had  stimulated 
in  his  cousin's  mind  into  an  unhealthy  fungus  crop. 


86  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

were  to  Amyas  simply,  as  he  expressed  it,  "wind 
and  moonshine;"  and  he  treated  his  cousin  as  a  sort 
of  harmless  lunatic,  and,  as  they  say  in  Devon,  "  half- 
baked."  And  Eustace  knew  it;  and  knew,  too,  that 
his  cousin  did  him  an  injustice.  "  He  used  to  under- 
value me,"  said  he  to  himself;  "let  us  see  whether  he 
does  not  find  me  a  match  for  him  now."  And  then 
went  off  into  an  agony  of  secret  contrition  for  his  self- 
seeking  and  his  forgetting  that  "the  glory  of  God,  and 
not  his  own  exaltation,"  was  the  object  of  his  existence. 

There,  dear  readers,  Ex  pede  Herculem ;  I  cannot 
tire  myself  or  you  (especially  in  this  book)  with  any 
wire-drawn  soul-dissections.  I  have  tried  to  hint  to 
you  two  opposite  sorts  of  men.  The  one  trying  to 
be  good  with  all  his  might  and  main,  according  to 
certain  approved  methods  and  rules,  which  he  has 
got  by  heart ;  and  like  a  weak  oarsman,  feeling  and 
fingering  his  spiritual  muscles  over  all  day,  to  see  if 
they  are  growing.  The  other,  not  even  knowing 
whether  he  is  good  or  not,  but  just  doing  the  right 
thing  without  thinking  about  it,  as  simply  as  a  little 
child,  because  the  Spirit  of  God  is  with  him.  If  you 
cannot  see  the  great  gulf  fixed  between  the  two,  I 
trust  that  you  will  discover  it  some  day. 

But  in  justice  be  it  said,  all  this  came  upon  Eustace, 
not  because  he  was  a  Eomanist,  but  because  he  was 
educated  by  the  Jesuits.  Had  he  been  saved  from 
them,  he  might  have  lived  and  died  as  simple  and 
honest  a  gentleman  as  his  brothers,  who  turned  out 
like  true  Englishmen  (as  did  all  the  Eomish  laity)  to 
face  the  great  Armada,  and  one  of  whom  was  fighting 


OF  WALES.  87 

at  that  very  minute  under  St.  Leger  in  Ireland,  and 
as  brave  and  loyal  a  soldier  as  those  Koman  Catholics 
whose  noble  blood  has  stained  every  Crimsean  battle- 
field ;  but  his  fate  was  appointed  otherwise ;  and  the 
Upas-shadow  which  has  blighted  the  whole  Eomish 
Church,  blighted  him  also. 

"Ah,  my  dearest  cousin!"  said  Eustace,  "how 
disappointed  I  was  this  morning  at  finding  I  had 
arrived  just  a  day  too  late  to  witness  your  triumph  ! 
But  I  hastened  to  your  home  as  soon  as  I  could,  and 
learning  from  your  mother  that  I  should  find  you 
here,  hurried  down  to  bid  you  welcome  again  to 
Devon." 

"Well,  old  lad,  it  does  look  very  natural  to  see 
you.  I  often  used  to  think  of  you  walking  the  deck 
o'  nights.  Uncle  and  the  girls  are  all  right,  then? 
But  is  the  old  pony  dead  yet  1  And  how's  Dick  the 
smith,  and  Nancy?  Grown  a  fine  maid  by  now,  I 
warrant.  'Slid,  it  seems  half  a  life  that  I've  been 
away." 

"And  you  really  thought  of  your  poor  cousin? 
Be  sure  that  he,  too,  thought  of  you,  and  offered  up 
nightly  his  weak  prayers  for  your  safety  (doubtless, 
not  without  avail)  to  those  saints,  to  whom  would 
that  you " 

"  Halt  there,  coz.  If  they  are  half  as  good  fellows 
as  you  and  I  take  them  for,  they'll  help  me  without 
asking." 

"They  have  helped  you,  Amyas." 

"Maybe;  I'd  have  done  as  much,  I'm  sure,  for 
them,  if  I'd  been  in  their  place." 


88  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

"  And  do  you  not  feel,  then,  that  you  owe  a  debt 
of  gratitude  to  them;  and,  above  all,  to  her,  whose 
intercessions  have,  I  doubt  not,  availed  for  your  pre- 
servation 'i  Her,  the  star  of  the  sea,  the  all-compas- 
sionate guide  of  the  mariner?" 

"Humph!"  said  Amyas.  "Here's  Frank;  let 
him  answer." 

And,  as  he  spoke,  up  came  Frank,  and  after  due 
greetings,  sat  down  beside  them  on  the  ridge. 

"I  say,  brother,  here's  Eustace  trying  already  to 
convert  me ;  and  telling  me  that  I  owe  all  my  luck  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin's  prayers  for  me." 

"It  may  be  so,"  said  Frank;  "at  least  you  owe  it 
to  the  prayers  of  that  most  pure  and  peerless  virgin, 
by  whose  commands  you  sailed ;  the  sweet  incense  of 
whose  orisons  have  gone  up  for  you  daily,  and  for 
whose  sake  you  were  preserved  from  flood  and  foe, 
that  you  might  spread  the  fame  and  advance  the 
power  of  the  spotless  championess  of  truth,  and  right, 
and  freedom, — Elizabeth,  your  queen." 

Amyas  answered  this  rhapsody,  which  would  have 
been  then  both  fashionable  and  sincere,  by  a  loyal 
chuckle.  Eustace  smiled  meekly:  but  answered 
somewhat  venomously  nevertheless, 

"I,  at  least,  am  certain  that  I  speak  the  truth, 
when  I  call  my  patroness  a  virgin  undefiled." 

Both  the  brothers'  brows  clouded  at  once.  Amyas, 
as  he  lay  on  his  back  on  the  pebbles,  said  quietly  to 
the  gulls  over  his  head, 

"I  wonder  what  the  Frenchman,  whose  head  I 
cut  off  at  the  Azores,  thinks  by  now  about  all  that." 


OF  WALES.  89 

"  Cut  off  a  Frenchman's  head  ?"  said  Frank. 
.  "  Yes,  faith ;  and  so  fleshed  my  maiden  sword. 
I'll  tell  you.  It  was  in  some  tavern ;  I  and  George 
Drake  had  gone  in,  and  there  sat  this  Frenchman, 
with  his  sword  on  the  table,  ready  for  a  quarrel  (I 
found  afterwards  he  was  a  noted  bully),  and  begins 
with  us  loudly  enough  about  this  and  that ;  but,  after 
awhile,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  what  does  he 
vent  but  a  dozen  slanders  against  her  Majesty's 
honour,  one  a  top  of  the  other.  I  was  ashamed  to 
hear  them,  and  I  should  be  more  ashamed  to  repeat 
them."     . 

"I  have  heard  enough  of  such,"  said  Frank. 
"  They  come  mostly  through  lewd  rascals  about  the 
French  ambassador,  who  have  been  bred  (God  help 
them)  among  the  filthy  vices  of  that  Medicean  Court, 
in  which  the  Queen  of  Scots  had  her  schooling ;  and 
can  only  perceive  in  a  virtuous  freedom,  a  cloke  for 
licentiousness  like  their  own.  Let  the  curs  bark; 
Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense  is  our  motto,  and  shall  be 
for  ever." 

"  But  I  didn't  let  the  cur  bark ;  for  I  took  him  by 
the  ears,  to  show  him  out  into  the  street.  Whereon 
he  got  to  his  sword,  and  I  to  mine ;  and  a  very  near 
chance  I  had  of  never  bathing  on  the  pebble-ridge 
more;  for  the  fellow  did  not  fight  with  edge  and 
buckler,  like  a  Christian,  but  had  some  newfangled 
French  devil's  device  of  scryming  and  foiuing  with 
his  point,  ha'ing  and  stamping,  and  tracing  at  me, 
that  I  expected  to  be  full  of  eyelet-holes  ere  I  could 
close  with  him." 


90  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

"  Thank  God  that  you  are  safe,  then ! "  said  Frank. 
"  I  know  that  play  well  enough,  and  dangerous  enough 
it  is." 

"  Of  course  you  know  it ;  but  I  didn't,  more's  the 
pity." 

"  Well,  I'll  teach  it  thee,  lad,  as  well  as  Rowland 
Yorke  himself, 

'  Thy  fincture,  carricade,  and  sly  passata, 
Thy  stramazon,  and  resolute  stoccata, 
Wiping  maudritta,  closing  embrocata, 
And  all  the  cant  of  the  honourable  fencing  mystery.' " 

"  Rowland  Yorke  1    Who's  he,  then  1 " 

"A  very  roystering  rascal,  who  is  making  good 
profit  in  London  just  now  by  teaching  this  very  art 
of  fence ;  and  is  as  likely  to  have  his  mortal  thread 
dipt  in  a  tavern  brawl,  as  thy  Frenchman.  But  how 
did  you  escape  his  pinking  ironf 

"Howl  Had  it  through  my  left  arm  before  I 
could  look  round ;  and  at  that  I  got  mad,  and  leapt 
upon  him,  and  caught  him  by  the  wrist,  and  then  had 
a  fair  side-blow;  and,  as  fortune  would  have  it,  off 
tumbled  his  head  on  to  the  table,  and  there  was  an 
end  of  his  slanders." 

"So  perish  all  her  enemies!"  said  Frank;  and 
Eustace,  who  had  been  trying  not  to  listen,  rose  and 
said, 

"I  trust  that  you  do  not  number  me  among 
them-?" 

"As  you  speak,  I  do,  coz,"  said  Frank.  "But  for 
your  own  sake,  let  me  advise  you  to  put  faith  in  the 
true  report  of  those  who  have  daily  experience  of  their 


OF  WALES.  91 

mistress's  excellent  virtue,  as  they  have  of  the  sun's 
shining,  and  of  the  earth's  bringing  forth  fruit,  and 
not  in  the  tattle  of  a  few  cowardly  back-stair  rogues, 
who  wish  to  curry  favour  with  the  Guises.  Come, 
we  will  say  no  more.  Walk  round  with  us  by  Apple- 
dore,  and  then  home  to  breakfast." 

But  Eustace  declined,  having  immediate  business, 
he  said,  in  Northam  town,  and  then  in  Bidef ord ;  and 
so  left  them  to  lounge  for  another  half-hour  on  the 
beach,  and  then  walk  across  the  smooth  sheet  of  turf 
to  the  little  white  fishing  village,  which  stands  some 
two  miles  above  the  bar,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Tor- 
ridge  and  the  Taw. 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  Eustace  Leigh,  as  we 
have  seen,  told  his  cousins  that  he  was  going  to 
Northam :  but  he  did  not  tell  them  that  his  point  was 
really  the  same  as  their  own,  namely,  Appledore; 
and,  therefore,  after  having  satisfied  his  conscience  by 
going  as  far  as  the  very  nearest  house  in  Northam 
village,  he  struck  away  sharj)  to  the  left  across  the 
fields,  repeating  I  know  not  what  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 
all  the  way;  whereby  he  went  several  miles  out  of 
his  road ;  and  also,  as  is  the  wont  of  crooked  spirits, 
Jesuits  especially  (as  three  centuries  sufficiently 
testify),  only  outwitted  himself.  For  his  cousins 
going  merrily,  like  honest  men,  along  the  straight  road 
across  the  turf,  arrived  in  Appledore,  opposite  the 
little  "  Mariner's  Eest  "  Inn,  just  in  time  to  see  what 
Eustace  had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  hide  from  them, 
namely,  four  of  Mr.  Thomas  Leigh's  horses  standing 
at  the  door,  held  by  his  groom,  saddles  and  mail-bags 


92  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

on  back,  and  mounting  three  of  them,  Eustace  Leigh 
and  two  strange  gentlemen. 

"There's  one  lie  already  this  morning,"  growled 
Amy  as ;  "he  told  us  he  was  going  to  Northam." 

"  And  we  do  not  know  that  he  has  not  been  there," 
blandly  suggested  Frank. 

"  Why,  you  are  as  bad  a  Jesuit  as  he,  to  help  him 
out  with  such  a  fetch." 

"He  may  have  changed  his  mind." 

"Bless  your  pure  imagination,  my  sweet  boy,"  said 
Amyas,  laying  his  great  hand  on  Frank's  head,  and 
mimicking  his  mother's  manner.  "  I  say,  dear  Frank, 
let's  step  into  this  shop  and  buy  a  pennyworth  of 
whipcord." 

"What  do  you  want  with  whipcord,  man?" 

"To  spin  my  top,  to  be  sure." 

"  Top  1  how  long  hast  had  a  top  f 

"I'll  buy  one,  then,  and  save  my  conscience; 
but  the  upshot  of  this  sport  I  must  see.  Why  may 
not  I  have  an  excuse  ready  made  as  well  as  Master 
Eustace  f 

So  saying,  he  pulled  Frank  into  the  little  shop, 
unobserved  by  the  party  at  the  inn-door. 

"  What  strange  cattle  has  he  been  importing  now  'i 
Look  at  that  three-legged  fellow,  trying  to  get  aloft 
on  the  wrong  side.  How  he  claws  at  his  horse's  ribs, 
like  a  cat  scratching  an  elder  stem  ! " 

The  three-legged  man  was  a  tall,  meek-looking 
person,  who  had  bedizened  himself  with  gorgeous 
garments,  a  great  feather,  and  a  sword  so  long  and 
broad,  that  it  differed  little  in  size  from  the  very  thin 


OF  WALES.  93 

and  stiff  shanks,  between  which  it  wandered  uncom- 
fortably. 

"Young  David  in  Saul's  weapons,"  said  Frank. 
"  He  had  better  not  go  in  them,  for  he  certainly  has 
not  proved  them." 

"  Look,  if  his  third  leg  is  not  turned  into  a  tail ! 
Why  does  not  some  one  in  charity  haul  in  half-a-yard 
of  his  belt  for  him?" 

It  was  too  true  j  the  sword,  after  being  kicked  out 
three  or  four  times  from  its  uncomfortable  post  be- 
tween his  legs,  had  returned  unconquered;  and  the 
hilt  getting  a  little  too  far  back  by  reason  of  the  too 
great  length  of  the  belt,  the  weapon  took  up  its  post 
triumphantly  behind,  standing  out  point  in  air,  a  tail 
confest,  amid  the  tittering  of  the  ostlers,  and  the 
cheers  of  the  sailors. 

At  last  the  poor  man,  by  dint  of  a  chair,  was 
mounted  safely,  while  his  fellow  stranger,  a  burly, 
coarse -looking  man,  equally  gay,  and  rather  more 
handy,  made  so  fierce  a  rush  at  his  saddle,  that  like 
"vaulting  ambition  who  o'erleaps  his  selle,"  he  "fell 
on  t'other  side:"  or  would  have  fallen,  had  he  not 
been  brought  up  short  by  the  shoulders  of  the  ostler 
at  his  off-stirrup.  In  which  shock  off  came  hat  and 
feather. 

"  Pardie,  the  bulldog-faced  one  is  a  fighting  man. 
Dost  see,  Frank?  he  has  had  his  head  broken." 

"That  scar  came  not,  my  son,  but  by  a  pair  of 
most  Catholic  and  apostolic  scissors.  My  gentle 
buzzard,  that  is  a  priest's  tonsure." 

"  Hang  the  dog !  0,  that  the  sailors  may  but  see 


M 


I 


94  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

it,  and  put  him  over  the  quay  head.  I've  a  half  mind 
to  go  and  do  it  myself." 

"My  dear  Amy  as,"  said  Frank,  laying  two  fingers 
on  his  arm,  "these  men,  whosoever  they  are,  are 
the  guests  of  our  uncle,  and  therefore  the  guests  of 
our  family.  Ham  gained  little  by  publishing  Noah's 
shame ;  neither  shall  we,  by  publishing  our  uncle's." 

"  Murrain  on  you,  old  Franky,  you  never  let  a  man 
speak  his  mind,  and  shame  the  devil." 

"  I  have  lived  long  enough  in  courts,  old  Amyas, 
without  a  murrain  on  you,  to  have  found  out  first, 
that  it  is  not  so  easy  to  shame  the  devil ;  and  secondly, 
that  it  is  better  to  outwit  him ;  and  the  only  way  to 
do  that,  sweet  chuck,  is  very  often  not  to  speak  your 
mind  at  all.  We  will  go  down  and  visit  them  at 
Chapel  in  a  day  or  two,  and  see  if  we  cannot  serve 
these  reynards  as  the  badger  did  the  fox,  when  he 
found  him  in  his  hole,  and  could  not  get  him  out  by 
evil  savours." 

"How  then r' 

"  Stuck  a  sweet  nosegay  in  the  door,  which  turned 
Reynard's  stomach  at  once ;  and  so  overcame  evil  with 
good." 

"  Well,  thou  art  too  good  for  this  world,  that's 
certain;  so  we  will  go  home  to  breakfast.  Those 
rogues  are  out  of  sight  by  now." 

Nevertheless,  Amyas  was  not  proof  against  the 
temptation  of  going  over  to  the  inn-door,  and  asking 
who  were  the  gentlemen  who  went  with  Mr.  Leigh. 

"Gentlemen  of  Wales,"  said  the  ostler,  "who 
came   last  night  in  a  pinnace   from   Milford-haven, 


OF  WALES.  95 

and  their  names,  Mr.  Morgan  Evans  and  Mr.  Evan 
Morgans." 

"Mr.  Judas  Iscariot  and  Mr.  Iscariot  Judas,"  said 
Amyas  between  his  teeth,  and  then  observed  aloud, 
"  that  the  Welsh  gentlemen  seemed  rather  poor  horse- 
men." 

"So  I  said  to  Mr.  Leigh's  groom,  your  worship. 
But  he  says  that  those  parts  be  so  uncommon  rough 
and  mountainous,  that  the  poor  gentlemen,  you  see, 
being  enforced  to  hunt  on  foot,  have  no  such  oppor- 
tunities as  young  gentlemen  hereabout,  like  your 
worship;  whom  God  preserve,  and  send  a  virtuous 
lady,  and  one  worthy  of  you." 

"  Thou  hast  a  villanously  glib  tongue,  fellow !"  said 
Amyas,  who  was  thoroughly  out  of  humour ;  "  and  a 
sneaking  down  visage  too,  when  I  come  to  look  at  you. 
I  doubt  but  you  are  a  Papist  too,  I  do  ! " 

"Well,  sir!  and  what  if  I  am!  I  trust  I  don't 
break  the  Queen's  laws  by  that.  If  I  don't  attend 
Northam  church,  I  pay  my  month's  shilling  for  the  use 
of  the  poor,  as  the  Act  directs;  and  beyond  that, 
neither  you  nor  any  man  dare  demand  of  me." 

"Dare!  Act  directs!  You  rascally  lawyer,  you! 
and  whence  does  an  ostler  like  you  get  your  shilling 
to  pay  withal?  Answer  me."  The  examinate  found 
it  so  difficult  to  answer  the  question,  that  he  suddenly 
became  afflicted  with  deafness. 

"Do  you  hearf  roared  Amyas,  catching  at  him 
with  his  lion's  paw. 

"  Yes,  missus ;  anon,  anon,  missus ! "  quoth  he  to 
an   imaginary   landlady   inside,   and   twisting   under 


96  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

Amyas's  hand  like  an  eel,  vanished  into  the  house, 
while  Frank  got  the  hot-headed  youth  away. 

"  What  a  plague  is  one  to  do,  then  ?  That  fellow 
was  a  Papist  spy!" 

"  Of  course  he  was  !"  said  Frank. 

"  Then,  what  is  one  to  do,  if  the  whole  country  is 
full  of  them  f 

"  Not  to  make  fools  of  ourselves  about  them ;  and 
so  leave  them  to  make  fools  of  themselves." 

"  That's  all  very  fine  :  but — well,  I  shall  remember 
the  villain's  face  if  I  see  him  again." 

"  There  is  no  harm  in  that,"  said  Frank. 

"Glad  you  think  so." 

"Don't  quarrel  with  me,  Amyas,  the  first  day." 

"  Quarrel  with  thee,  my  darling  old  fellow !  I  had 
sooner  kiss  the  dust  off  thy  feet,  if  I  were  worthy  of 
it.     So  now  away  home ;  my  inside  cries  cupboard." 

In  the  meanwhile  Messrs.  Evans  and  Morgans  were 
riding  away,  as  fast  as  the  rough  by-lanes  would  let 
them,  along  the  fresh  coast  of  the  bay,  steering  care- 
fully clear  of  Northam  town  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other,  of  Portledge,  where  dwelt  that  most  Pro- 
testant justice  of  the  peace,  Mr.  Coffin.  And  it  was 
well  for  them  that  neither  Amyas  Leigh,  or  indeed 
any  other  loyal  Englishman,  was  by  when  they  entered, 
as  they  shortly  did,  the  lonely  woods  which  stretch 
along  the  southern  wall  of  the  bay.  For  there  Eustace 
Leigh  pulled  up  short ;  and  both  he  and  his  groom, 
leaping  from  their  horses,  knelt  down  humbly  in  the 
wet  grass,  and  implored  the  blessing  of  the  two  valiant 
gentlemen  of  Wales,  who,  having  graciously  bestowed 


OF  WALES.  97 

it  with  three  fingers  apiece,  became  thenceforth  no 
longer  Morgan  Evans  and  Evan  Morgans,  Welshmen 
and  gentlemen;  but  Father  Parsons  and  Father 
Campian,  Jesuits,  and  gentlemen  in  no  sense  in  which 
that  word  is  applied  in  this  book. 

After  a  few  minutes,  the  party  were  again  in 
motion,  ambling  steadily  and  cautiously  along  the 
high  table-land,  towards  Moorwinstow  in  the  west; 
while  beneath  them  on  the  right,  at  the  mouth  of 
rich-wooded  glens,  opened  vistas  of  the  bright  blue 
bay,  and  beyond  it  the  sandhills  of  Braunton,  and 
the  ragged  rocks  of  Morte  ;  while  far  away  to  the 
north  and  west  the  lonely  isle  of  Lundy  hung  like  a 
soft  grey  cloud. 

But  they  were  not  destined  to  reach  their  point  as 
peaceably  as  they  could  have  wished.  For  just  as 
they  got  opposite  Clovelly  Dike,  the  huge  old  Eoman 
encampment  which  stands  about  mid-way  in  their 
journey,  they  heard  a  halloo  from  the  valley  below, 
answered  by  a  fainter  one  far  ahead.  At  which,  like 
a  couple  of  rogues  (as  indeed  they  were),  Father  Cam- 
pian and  Father  Parsons  looked  at  each  other,  and 
then  both  stared  round  at  the  wild,  desolate,  open 
pasture  (for  the  country  was  then  all  unenclosed),  and 
the  great  dark  furze-grown  banks  above  their  heads ; 
and  Campian  remarked  gently  to  Parsons,  that  this 
was  a  very  dreary  spot,  and  likely  enough  for  robbers. 

"A  likelier  spot  for  us.  Father,"  said  Eustace, 
punning.  "The  old  Eomans  knew  what  they  were 
about  when  they  put  their  legions  up  aloft  here  to 
overlook  land  and  sea  for  miles  away ;  and  we  may 

VOL.  L  H  w.  u. 


98  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

thank  them  some  day  for  their  leavings.  The  banks 
are  all  sound ;  there  is  plenty  of  good  water  inside ; 
and  "  (added  he  in  Latin),  "  in  case  our  Spanish  friends 
— ^you  understand  1" 

"  Pauca  verba,  my  son  ! "  said  Campian  :  but  as  he 
spoke,  up  from  the  ditch  close  beside  him,  as  if  rising 
out  of  the  earth,  burst  through  the  furze-bushes  an 
armed  cavalier. 

"Pardon,  gentlemen!"  shouted  he,  as  the  Jesuit 
and  his  horse  recoiled  against  the  groom.  Stand,  for 
your  lives ! " 

''^ Mater  ccelorum/"  moaned  Campian:  while  Par- 
sons, who,  as  all  the  world  knows,  was  a  blustering 
bully  enough  (at  least  with  his  tongue),  asked  :  "  What 
a  murrain  right  had  he  to  stop  honest  folks  on  the 
Queen's  highway  1"  confirming  the  same  with  a  mighty 
oath,  which  he  set  down  as  peccatum  veniale,  on  account 
of  the  sudden  necessity;  nay,  indeed  fraus  pia,  as 
proper  to  support  the  character  of  that  valiant  gentle- 
man of  Wales,  Mr.  Evan  Morgans.  But  the  horseman, 
taking  no  notice  of  his  hint,  dashed  across  the  nose  of 
Eustace  Leigh's  horse,  with  a  "  Hillo,  old  lad !  where 
ridest  so  early  f  and  peering  down  for  a  moment  into 
the  ruts  of  the  narrow  track-way,  struck  spurs  into  his 
horse,  shouting,  "  A  fresh  slot !  right  away  for  Hart- 
land  !  Forward,  gentlemen  all !  follow,  follow,  follow !" 

"Who  is  this  roystererf  asked  Parsons,  loftily. 

"Will  Gary,  of  Clovelly;  an  awful  heretic:  and  here 
come  more  behind." 

And  as  he  spoke,  four  or  five  more  mounted  gallants 
plunged  in  and  out  of  the  great  dikes,  and  thundered 


OF  WALES.  99 

on  behind  the  party;  whose  horses,  quite  under- 
standing what  game  was  up,  burst  into  full  gallop, 
neighing  and  squealing;  and  in  another  minute  the 
hapless  Jesuits  were  hurling  along  over  moor  and 
moss  after  a  "hart  of  grease." 

Parsons,  who,  though  a  vulgar  bully,  was  no  coward, 
supported  the  character  of  Mr.  Evan  Morgans  well 
enough ;  and  he  would  have  really  enjoyed  himself, 
had  he  not  been  in  agonies  of  fear  lest  those  precious 
saddle-bags  in  front  of  him  should  break  from  their 
lashings,  and  rolling  to  the  earth,  expose  to  the  hoofs 
of  heretic  horses,  perhaps  to  the  gaze  of  heretic  eyes, 
such  a  cargo  of  bulls,  dispensations,  secret  corre- 
spondences, seditious  tracts,  and  so  forth,  that  at  the 
very  thought  of  their  being  seen,  his  head  felt  loose 
upon  his  shoulders.  But  the  future  martyr  behind 
him,  Mr.  Morgan  Evans,  gave  himself  up  at  once  to 
abject  despair,  and  as  he  bumped  and  rolled  along, 
sought  vainly  for  comfort  in  professional  ejaculations 
in  the  Latin  tongue. 

*'  Maier  intemerata  I  Eripe  Tiie  e — Ugh !  I  am  down ! 
Adhcesif pavimento  venter/ — No  !  I  am  not !  Et  diledum 
tuum  e  potesiate  canis — Ah  1  Audisti  me  inter  cornua 
unicormumf — Put  this,  too,  down  in — ugh! — thy 
account  in  favour  of  my  poor — oh,  sharpness  of  this 
saddle  !     Oh  whither,  barbarous  islanders !" 

Now  riding  on  his  quarter,  not  in  the  rough  track- 
way like  a  cockney,  but  through  the  soft  heather  hke 
a  sportsman,  was  a  very  gallant  knight  whom  we  all 
know  well  by  this  time,  Richard  Grenvile  by  name ; 
who  had  made  Mr.  Gary  and  the  rest  his  guests  the 


100  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

night  before,  and  then  ridden  out  with  them  at  five 
o'clock  that  morning,  after  the  wholesome  early  ways 
of  the  time,  to  rouse  a  well-known  stag  in  the  glens 
at  Buckish,  by  help  of  Mr.  Coffin's  hounds  from  Port- 
ledge.  Who  being  as  good  a  Latiner  as  Campian's 
self,  and  overhearing  both  the  scraps  of  psalm  and 
"  the  barbarous  islanders,"  pushed  his  horse  alongside 
of  Mr.  Eustace  Leigh,  and  at  the  first  check  said,  with 
two  low  bows  towards  the  two  strangers — 

"  I  hope  Mr.  Leigh  will  do  me  the  honour  of  intro- 
ducing me  to  his  guests.  I  should  be  sorry,  and  Mr. 
Cary  also,  that  any  gentle  strangers  should  become 
neighbours  of  ours,  even  for  a  day,  without  our 
knowing  who  they  are  who  honour  our  western  Thule 
with  a  visit;  and  showing  them  ourselves  all  due 
requital  for  the  compliment  of  their  presence." 

After  which,  the  only  thing  which  poor  Eustace 
could  do  (especially  as  it  was  spoken  loud  enough  for 
all  bystanders),  was  to  introduce  in  due  form  Mr. 
Evan  Morgans  and  Mr.  Morgan  Evans,  who,  hearing 
the  name,  and  what  was  worse,  seeing  the  terrible 
face  with  its  quiet  searching  eye,  felt  like  a  brace  of 
partridge-poults  cowering  in  the  stubble,  with  a  hawk 
hanging  ten  feet  over  their  heads. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Sir  Kichard  blandly,  cap  in 
hand ;  "  I  fear  that  your  mails  must  have  been  some- 
what in  your  way  in  this  unexpected  gallop.  If  you 
will  permit  my  groom,  who  is  behind,  to  disencumber 
you  of  them  and  carry  them  to  Chapel,  you  will  both 
confer  an  honour  on  me,  and  be  enabled  yourselves  to 
see  the  mort  more  pleasantly." 


OF  WALES.  101 

A  twinkle  of  fun,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  played 
about  good  Sir  Richard's  eye  as  he  gave  this  searching 
hint.  The  two  Welsh  gentlemen  stammered  out 
clumsy  thanks  ;  and  pleading  great  haste  and  fatigue 
from  a  long  journey,  contrived  to  fall  to  the  rear,  and 
vanish  with  their  guides,  as  soon  as  the  slot  had  been 
recovered. 

"Will!"  said  Sir  Richard,  pushing  alongside  of 
young  Gary. 

"Your  worship f 

"Jesuits,  Will!" 

"  May  the  father  of  lies  fly  away  with  them  over 
the  nearest  cliff ! " 

"  He  will  not  do  that  while  this  Irish  trouble  is 
about.  Those  fellows  are  come  to  practise  here  for 
Saunders  and  Desmond." 

"  Perhaps  they  have  a  consecrated  banner  in  their 
bag,  the  scoundrels !  Shall  I  and  young  Coffin  on 
and  stop  them'?  Hard  if  the  honest  men  may  not 
rob  the  thieves  once  in  a  way." 

"  No ;  give  the  devil  rope,  and  he  will  hang  himself. 
Keep  thy  tongue  at  home,  and  thine  eyes  too,  Will." 

"How  then?" 

"Let  Clovelly  beach  be  watched  night  and  day 
like  any  mousehole.  No  one  can  land  round  Harty 
point  with  these  south-westers.  Stop  every  fellow 
who  has  the  ghost  of  an  Irish  brogue,  come  he  in  or 
go  he  out,  and  send  him  over  to  me." 

"Some  one  should  guard  Bude  haven,  sir." 

"Leave  that  to  me.  Now  then,  forward,  gentle- 
men all,  or  the  stag  will  take  the  sea  at  the  Abbey." 


102  OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN 

And  on  they  crashed  down  the  Hartland  glens, 
through  the  oak-scrub  and  the  great  crown-ferns; 
and  the  baying  of  the  slow-hound  and  the  tantaras  of 
the  horn  died  away  farther  and  fainter  toward  the 
blue  Atlantic,  while  the  conspirators,  with  lightened 
hearts,  pricked  fast  across  Bursdon  upon  their  evil 
errand.  But  Eustace  Leigh  had  other  thoughts  and 
other  cares  than  the  safety  of  his  father's  two  mysteri- 
ous guests,  important  as  that  was  in  his  eyes ;  for  he 
was  one  of  the  many  who  had  drunk  in  sweet  poison 
(though  in  his  case  it  could  hardly  be  called  sweet) 
from  the  magic  glances  of  the  Eose  of  Torridge.  He 
had  seen  her  in  the  town,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life  fallen  utterly  in  love;  and  now  that  she  had 
come  down  close  to  his  father's  house,  he  looked  on 
her  as  a  lamb  fallen  unawares  into  the  jaws  of  the 
greedy  wolf,  which  he  felt  himself  to  be.  For  Eus- 
tace's love  had  little  or  nothing  of  chivalry,  self-sacri- 
fice, or  purity  in  it ;  those  were  virtues  which  were 
not  taught  at  Rheims.  Careful  as  the  Jesuits  were 
over  the  practical  morality  of  their  pupils,  this  severe 
restraint  had  little  effect  in  producing  real  habits  of 
self-control.  What  little  Eustace  had  learnt  of 
women  from  them,  was  as  base  and  vulgar  as  the  rest 
of  their  teaching.  What  could  it  be  else,  if  instilled 
by  men  educated  in  the  schools  of  Italy  and  France, 
in  the  age  which  produced  the  foul  novels  of  Cinthio 
and  Bandello,  and  compelled  Eabelais,  in  order  to 
escape  the  rack  and  stake,  to  hide  the  light  of  his 
great  wisdom,  not  beneath  a  bushel,  but  beneath  a 
dunghill ;  the  age  in  which  the  Romish  Church  had 


OF  WALES.  103 

made  marriage  a  legalised  tyranny,  and  the  laity,  by 
a  natural  and  pardonable  revulsion,  had  exalted 
adultery  into  a  virtue  and  a  science  1  That  all  love 
was  lust ;  that  all  women  had  their  price ;  that  pro- 
fligacy, though  an  ecclesiastical  sin,  was  so  pardonable, 
if  not  necessary,  as  to  be  hardly  a  moral  sin,  were 
notions  which  Eustace  must  needs  have  gathered 
from  the  hints  of  his  preceptors;  for  their  written 
works  bear  to  this  day  fullest  and  foulest  testimony 
that  such  was  their  opinion ;  and  that  their  conception 
of  the  relation  of  the  sexes  was  really  not  a  whit 
higher  than  that  of  the  profligate  laity  who  confessed 
to  them.  He  longed  to  marry  Rose  Salteme,  with  a 
wild  selfish  fury ;  but  only  that  he  might  be  able  to 
claim  her  as  his  own  property,  and  keep  all  others 
from  her.  Of  her  as  a  co-equal  and  ennobling  help- 
mate; as  one  in  whose  honour,  glory,  growth  of 
heart  and  soul,  his  own  were  inextricably  wrapt  up, 
he  had  never  dreamed.  Marriage  would  prevent  God 
from  being  angry  with  that,  with  which  otherwise  He 
might  be  angry ;  and  therefore  the  sanction  of  the 
Church  was  the  more  "probable  and  safe"  course. 
But  as  yet  his  suit  was  in  very  embryo.  He  could 
not  even  tell  whether  Rose  knew  of  his  love ;  and  he 
wasted  miserable  hours  in  maddening  thoughts,  and 
tost  all  night  upon  his  sleepless  bed,  and  rose  next 
morning  fierce  and  pale,  to  invent  fresh  excuses  for 
going  over  to  her  uncle's  house,  and  lingering  about 
the  fruit  which  he  dared  not  snatch. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  TWO  WAYS  OF  BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE. 

"  I  could  not  love  thee,  dear,  so  much. 
Loved  I  not  honour  more. " — Lovelace. 

And  what  all  this  while  has  become  of  the  fair  breaker 
of  so  many  hearts,  to  whom  I  have  not  yet  even  in- 
troduced my  readers  1 

She  was  sitting  in  the  little  farm-house  beside  the 
mill,  buried  in  the  green  depths  of  the  Valley  of 
Combe,  half-way  between  Stow  and  Chapel,  sulking 
as  much  as  her  sweet  nature  would  let  her,  at  being 
thus  shut  out  from  all  the  grand  doings  at  Bideford, 
and  forced  to  keep  a  Martinmas  Lent  in  that  far 
western  glen.  So  lonely  was  she,  in  fact,  that  though 
she  regarded  Eustace  Leigh  with  somewhat  of  aversion, 
and  (being  a  good  Protestant)  with  a  great  deal  of 
suspicion,  she  could  not  find  it  in  her  heart  to  avoid 
a  chat  with  him  whenever  he  came  down  to  the  farm 
and  to  its  mill,  which  he  contrived  to  do,  on  I  know 
not  what  would-be  errand,  almost  every  day.  Her 
uncle  and  aunt  at  first  looked  stiff  enough  at  these  visits, 
and  the  latter  took  care  always  to  make  a  third  in 
every  conversation ;  but  still  Mr.  Leigh  was  a  gentle- 
man's son,  and  it  would  not  do  to  be  rude  to  a  neigh- 
bouring squire  and  a  good  customer;  and  Rose  was 


THE  TWO  WAYS  OF  BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.      105 

the  rich  man's  daughter,  and  they  poor  cousins,  so  it 
would  not  do  either  to  quarrel  with  her ;  and  besides, 
the  pretty  maid,  half  by  wilfulness,  and  half  by  her 
sweet  winning  tricks,  generally  contrived  to  get  her 
own  way  wheresoever  she  went ;  and  she  herself  had 
been  wise  enough  to  beg  her  aunt  never  to  leave  them 
alone, — for  she  "could  not  a-bear  the  sight  of  Mr. 
Eustace,  only  she  must  have  some  one  to  talk  with 
down  here."  On  which  her  aunt  considered,  that  she 
herself  was  but  a  simple  country-woman;  and  that 
townsf oiks'  ways  of  course  must  be  very  different  from 
hers ;  and  that  people  knew  their  own  business  best ; 
and  so  forth,  and  let  things  go  on  their  own  way. 
Eustace,  in  the  meanwhile,  who  knew  well  that  the 
difference  in  creed  between  him  and  Rose  was  likely 
to  be  the  very  hardest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his 
love,  took  care  to  keep  his  private  opinions  well  in  the 
background;  and  instead  of  trying  to  convert  the 
folk  at  the  mill,  daily  bought  milk  or  flour  from  them, 
and  gave  it  away  to  the  old  women  in  Moorwinstow 
(who  agreed  that  after  all,  for  a  Papist,  he  was  a 
godly  young  man  enough) ;  and  at  last,  having  taken 
counsel  with  Campian  and  Parsons  on  certain  political 
plots  then  on  foot,  came  with  them  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  would  all  three  go  to  Church  the  next 
Sunday.  Where  Messrs.  Evan  Morgans  and  Morgan 
Evans,  having  crammed  up  the  rubrics  beforehand, 
behaved  themselves  in  a  most  orthodox  and  unexcep- 
tionable manner ;  as  did  also  poor  Eustace,  to  the  great 
wonder  of  all  good  folks,  and  then  went  home  flatter- 
ing himself  that  he  had  taken  in  parson,  clerk,  and 


106  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

people ;  not  knowing  in  his  simple  unsimplicity,  and 
cunning  foolishness,  that  each  good  wife  in  the  parish 
was  saying  to  the  other,  "  He  turned  Protestant  ?  The 
devil  turned  monk !  He's  only  after  Mistress  Salterne, 
the  young  hypocrite." 

But  if  the  two  Jesuits  found  it  expedient,  for  the 
holy  cause  in  which  they  were  embarked,  to  reconcile 
themselves  outwardly  to  the  powers  that  were,  they 
were  none  the  less  busy  in  private  in  plotting  their 
overthrow. 

Ever  since  April  last  they  had  been  playing  at  hide- 
and-seek  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  England, 
and  now  they  were  only  lying  quiet  till  expected  news 
from  Ireland  should  give  them  their  cue,  and  a  great 
"  rising  of  the  west "  should  sweep  from  her  throne, 
that  stiff-necked,  persecuting,  excommunicate,  repro- 
bate, illegitimate,  and  profligate  usurper,  who  falsely 
called  herself  the  Queen  of  England. 

For  they  had  as  stoutly  persuaded  themselves  in 
those  days,  as  they  have  in  these  (with  a  real  Baconian 
contempt  of  the  results  of  sensible  experience),  that 
the  heart  of  England  was  really  with  them,  and  that 
the  British  nation  was  on  the  point  of  returning  to 
the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  giving  up 
Elizabeth  to  be  led  in  chains  to  the  feet  of  the  rightful 
Lord  of  Creation,  the  Old  Man  of  the  Seven  Hills. 
And  this  fair  hope  which  has  been  skipping  just  in 
front  of  them  for  centuries,  always  a  step  farther  off, 
like  the  place  where  the  rainbow  touches  the  ground, 
they  used  to  announce  at  times,  in  language  which 
terrified  old  Mr.  Leigh.     One  day,  indeed,  as  Eustace 


BEING  CKOST  IN  LOVE.  107 

entered  his  father's  private  room,  after  his  usual  visit 
to  the  mill,  he  could  hear  voices  high  in  dispute ; 
Parsons  as  usual,  blustering ;  Mr.  Leigh  peevishly 
deprecating,  and  Campian,  who  was  really  the 
sweetest -natured  of  men,  trying  to  pour  oil  on  the 
troubled  waters.  Whereat  Eustace  (for  the  good  of 
the  cause,  of  course)  stopped  outside  and  listened. 

"My  excellent  sir,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "does  not 
your  very  presence  here  show  how  I  am  affected 
toward  the  holy  cause  of  the  Catholic  faith  ?  But  I 
cannot  in  the  meanwhile  forget  that  I  am  an  English- 
man." 

"  And  what  is  England  1"  said  Parsons  :  "  A  heretic 
and  schismatic  Babylon,  whereof  it  is  written,  *  Come 
out  of  her,  my  people,  lest  you  be  partaker  of  her 
plagues.'  Yea,  what  is  a  country  1  An  arbitrary 
division  of  territory  by  the  princes  of  this  world,  who 
are  nought,  and  come  to  nought.  They  are  created 
by  the  people's  will ;  their  existence  depends  on  the 
sanction  of  him  to  whom  all  power  is  given  in  heaven 
and  earth — our  holy  father  the  Pope.  Take  away  the 
latter,  and  what  is  a  king  1 — the  people  who  have  made 
him  may  unmake  him." 

"  My  dear  sir,  recollect  that  I  have  sworn  allegi- 
ance to  Queen  Elizabeth !" 

"  Yes,  sir,  you  have,  sir ;  and,  as  I  have  shown  at 
large  in  my  writings,  you  were  absolved  from  that 
allegiance  from  the  moment  that  the  bull  of  Pius  the 
Fifth  declared  her  a  heretic  and  excommunicate,  and 
thereby  to  have  forfeited  all  dominion  whatsover.  I 
tell  you,  sir,  what  I  thought  you  should  have  known 


108  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

already,  that  since  the  year  1569,  England  has  had 
no  Queen,  no  magistrates,  no  laws,  no  lawful  authority 
whatsoever ;  and  that  to  own  allegiance  to  any  English 
magistrate,  sir,  or  to  plead  in  an  English  court  of  law, 
is  to  disobey  the  apostolic  precept,  '  How  dare  you  go 
to  law  before  the  unbelievers  f  I  tell  you,  sir,  re- 
bellion is  now  not  merely  permitted,  it  is  a  duty." 

"Take  care,  sir;  for  God's  sake,  take  care!"  said 
Mr.  Leigh.  "Eight  or  wrong,  I  cannot  have  such 
language  used  in  my  house.  For  the  sake  of  my  wife 
and  children,  I  cannot !" 

"  My  dear  brother  Parsons,  deal  more  gently  with 
the  flock,"  interposed  Campian.  "Your  opinion, 
though  probable,  as  I  well  know,  in  the  eyes  of  most 
of  our  order,  is  hardly  safe  enough  here ;  the  opposite 
is  at  least  so  safe  that  Mr.  Leigh  may  well  excuse  his 
conscience  for  accepting  it.  After  all,  are  we  not  sent 
hither  to  proclaim  this  very  thing,  and  to  relieve  the 
souls  of  good  Catholics  from  a  burden  which  has 
seemed  to  them  too  heavy?" 

"Yes,"  said  Parsons,  half  sulkily,  "to  allow  all 
Balaams  who  will  to  sacrifice  to  Baal,  while  they  call 
themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

"My  dear  brother,  have  I  not  often  reminded  you 
that  Naaman  was  allowed  to  bow  himself  in  the  house 
of  Rimmon '?  And  can  we  therefore  complain  of  the 
office  to  which  the  Holy  Father  has  appointed  us,  to 
declare  to  such  as  Mr.  Leigh  his  especial  grace,  by 
which  the  bull  of  Pius  the  Fifth  (on  whose  soul  God 
have  mercy!)  shall  henceforth  bind  the  Queen  and 
the  heretics  only;  but  in  no  ways  the  Catholics,  at 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  109 

least  as  long  as  the  present  tyranny  prevents  the  pious 
purposes  of  the  bull  V 

"Be  it  so,  sir;  be  it  so.  Only  observe  this,  Mr. 
Leigh,  that  our  brother  Campain  confesses  this  to  be 
a  tyranny.  Observe,  sir,  that  the  bull  does  still  bind 
the  so-called  Queen,  and  that  she  and  her  magistrates 
are  still  none  the  less  usurpers,  nonentities,  and 
shadows  of  a  shade.  And  observe  this,  sir,  that  when 
that  which  is  lawful  is  excused  to  the  weak,  it  remains 
no  less  lawful  to  the  strong.  The  seven  thousand 
who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal  did  not  slay  his 
priests;  but  Elijah  did,  and  won  to  himself  a  good 
reward.  And  if  the  rest  of  the  children  of  Israel 
sinned  not  in  not  slaying  Eglon,  yet  Ehud's  deed  was 
none  the  less  justified  by  all  laws  human  and  divine." 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  do  not  talk  so,  sir !  or  I  must 
leave  the  room.  What  have  I  to  do  with  Ehud  and 
Eglon,  and  slaughters,  and  tyrannies "?  Our  Queen  is 
a  very  good  Queen,  if  Heaven  would  but  grant  her 
repentance,  and  turn  her  to  the  true  faith.  I  have 
never  been  troubled  about  religion,  nor  any  one  else 
that  I  know  of  in  the  west  country." 

"  You  forget  Mr.  Trudgeon  of  Launceston,  father, 
and  poor  Father  Mayne,"  inter[)osed  Eustace,  who  had 
by  this  time  slipped  in ;  and  Campian  added  softly — 

"  Yes,  your  West  of  England  also  has  been  honoured 
by  its  martyrs,  as  well  as  my  London  by  the  precious 
blood  of  Story." 

"What,  young  malapert f  cried  poor  Leigh,  facing 
round  upon  his  son,  glad  to  find  any  one  on  whom  he 
might  vent  his  ill-humour ;  "  are  you,  too,  against  me, 


110  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

with  a  murrain  on  you  1  And  pray,  what  the  devil 
brought  Cuthbert  Mayne  to  the  gallows,  and  turned 
Mr.  Trudgeon  (he  was  always  a  foolish  hot-head)  out 
of  house  and  home,  but  just  such  treasonable  talk  as 
Mr.  Parsons  must  needs  hold  in  my  house,  to  make  a 
beggar  of  me  and  my  children,  as  he  will  before  he 
has  done. 

"  The  blessed  Virgin  forbid  ! "  said  Campian. 

"  The  blessed  Virgin  forbid  1  But  you  must  help 
her  to  forbid  it,  Mr.  Campian.  We  should  never  have 
had  the  law  of  1571,  against  bulls,  and  Agnus  Deis, 
and  blessed  grains,  if  the  Pope's  bull  of  1569  had  not 
made  them  matter  of  treason,  by  preventing  a  poor 
creature's  saving  his  soul  in  the  true  Church  without 
putting  his  neck  into  a  halter  by  den)dng  the  Queen's 
authority." 

"What,  sirf  almost  roared  Parsons,  "do  you 
dare  to  speak  evil  of  the  edicts  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ?" 

"I?  No.  I  didn't.  Who  says  I  did?  All  I 
meant  was,  I  am  sure — Mr.  Campian,  you  are  a 
reasonable  man,  speak  for  me." 

"  Mr.  Leigh  only  meant,  I  am  sure,  that  the  Holy 
Father's  prudent  intentions  have  been  so  far  defeated 
by  the  perverseness  and  invincible  misunderstanding 
of  the  heretics,  that  that  which  was  in  itself  meant 
for  the  good  of  the  oppressed  English  Catholics  has 
been  perverted  to  their  harm." 

"And  thus,  reverend  sir,"  said  Eustace,  glad  to 
get  into  his  father's  good  graces  again,  "my  father 
attaches  blame,  not  to  the  Pope — Heaven  forbid ! — 
but  to  the  pravity  of  his  enemies." 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  Ill 

"And  it  is  for  this  very  reason,"  said  Campian, 
*'  that  we  have  brought  with  us  the  present  merciful 
explanation  of  the  bull." 

"I'll  tell  you  what,  gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Leigh, 
who,  like  other  weak  men,  grew  in  valour  as  his 
opponent  seemed  inclined  to  make  peace,  "I  don't 
think  the  declaration  was  needed.  After  the  new 
law  of  1571  was  made,  it  was  never  put  in  force  till 
Mayne  and  Trudgeon  made  fools  of  themselves,  and 
that  was  full  six  years.  There  were  a  few  offenders, 
they  say,  who  were  brought  up  and  admonished,  and 
let  go ;  but  even  that  did  not  happen  down  here,  and 
need  not  happen  now,  unless  you  put  my  son  here 
(for  you  shall  never  put  me,  I  warrant  you)  upon  some 
deed  which  had  better  be  left  alone,  and  so  bring  us 
all  to  shame." 

"  Your  son,  sir,  if  not  openly  vowed  to  God,  has, 
I  hope,  a  due  sense  of  that  inward  vocation  which  we 
have  seen  in  him,  and  reverences  his  spiritual  fathers 
too  well  to  listen  to  the  temptations  of  his  earthly 
father." 

"What,  sir,  will  you  teach  my  son  to  disobey 
mef 

"Your  son  is  ours  also,  sir.  This  is  strange 
language  in  one  who  owes  a  debt  to  the  Church, 
which  it  was  charitably  fancied  he  meant  to  pay  in 
the  person  of  his  child." 

These  last  words  touched  poor  Mr.  Leigh  in  a  sore 
point,  and  breaking  all  bounds,  he  swore  roundly  at 
Parsons,  who  stood  foaming  with  rage. 

"  A  plague  upon  you,  sir,  and  a  black  assizes  for 


112  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

you,  for  you  will  come  to  the  gallows  yet !  Do  you 
mean  to  taunt  me  in  my  own  house  with  that  Hartland 
land  1  You  had  better  go  back  and  ask  those  who 
sent  you,  where  the  dispensation  to  hold  the  land  is, 
which  they  promised  to  get  me  years  ago,  and  have 
gone  on  putting  me  off,  till  they  have  got  my  money, 
and  my  son,  and  my  conscience,  and  I  vow  before  all 
the  saints,  seem  now  to  want  my  head  over  and  above. 
God  help  me  ! " — and  the  poor  man's  eyes  fairly  filled 
with  tears. 

Now  was  Eustace's  turn  to  be  roused ;  for,  after 
all,  he  was  an  Englishman  and  a  gentleman ;  and  he 
said  kindly  enough,  but  firmly — 

"  Courage,  my  dearest  father.  Eemember  that  I 
am  still  your  son,  and  not  a  Jesuit  yet ;  and  whether 
I  ever  become  one,  I  promise  you,  will  depend  mainly 
on  the  treatment  which  you  meet  with  at  the  hands 
of  these  reverend  gentlemen,  for  whom  I,  as  having 
brought  them  hither,  must  consider  myself  as  surety 
to  you." 

If  a  powder-barrel  had  exploded  in  the  Jesuits' 
faces,  they  could  not  have  been  more  amazed. 
Campian  looked  blank  at  Parsons,  and  Parsons  at 
Campian ;  till  the  stouter-hearted  of  the  two,  recover- 
ing his  breath  at  last — 

"  Sir !  do  you  know,  sir,  the  curse  pronounced  on 
those  who,  after  putting  their  hand  to  the  plough, 
look  back  1" 

Eustace  was  one  of  those  impulsive  men,  with  a 
lack  of  moral  courage,  who  dare  raise  the  devil,  but 
never  dare  fight  him  after  he  has  been  raised ;  and 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  113 

he  now  tried  to  pass  off  his  speech  by  winking  and 
making  signs  in  the  direction  of  his  father,  as  much 
as  to  say  that  he  was  only  trying  to  quiet  the  old 
man's  fears.  But  Campian  was  too  frightened, 
Parsons  too  angry,  to  take  his  hints :  and  he  had 
to  carry  his  part  through. 

"  All  I  read  is,  Father  Parsons,  that  such  are  not 
fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God ;  of  which  high  honour  I 
have  for  some  time  past  felt  myself  unworthy.  I  have 
much  doubt  just  now  as  to  my  vocation  ;  and  in  the 
meanwhile  have  not  forgotten  that  I  am  a  citizen  of 
a  free  country."  And  so  saying,  he  took  his  father's 
arm,  and  walked  out. 

His  last  words  had  hit  the  Jesuits  hard.  They 
had  put  the  poor  cobweb-spinners  in  mind  of  the 
humiliating  fact,  which  they  have  had  thrust  on  them 
daily  from  that  time  till  now,  and  yet  have  never  learnt 
the  lesson,  that  all  their  scholastic  cunning,  plotting, 
intriguing,  bulls,  pardons,  indulgences,  and  the  rest 
of  it,  are,  on  this  side  the  Channel,  a  mere  enchanter's 
cloud-castle  and  Fata  Morgana,  which  vanishes  into 
empty  air  by  one  touch  of  that  magic  wand,  the 
constable's  staff.  "A  citizen  of  a  free  country!" — 
there  was  the  rub ;  and  they  looked  at  each  other  in 
more  utter  perplexity  than  ever.  At  last  Parsons 
spoke. 

"  There's  a  woman  in  the  wind.  I'll  lay  my  life 
on  it.  I  saw  him  blush  up  crimson  yesterday,  when 
his  mother  asked  him  whether  some  Rose  Salteme  or 
other  was  still  in  the  neighbourhood." 

"A  woman?      Well,  the  spirit  may  be  willing, 

VOL.  L  I  w.  H. 


114  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

though  the  flesh  be  weak.  We  will  enquire  into  this. 
The  youth  may  do  us  good  service  as  a  layman ;  and 
if  anything  should  happen  to  his  elder  brother  (whom 
the  saints  protect !)  he  is  heir  to  some  wealth.  In  the 
meanwhile,  our  dear  brother  Parsons  will  perhaps  see 
the  expediency  of  altering  our  tactics  somewhat  while 
we  are  here." 

And  thereupon  a  long  conversation  began  between 
the  two,  who  had  been  sent  together,  after  the  wise 
method  of  their  order,  in  obedience  to  the  precept, 
"Two  are  better  than  one,"  in  order  that  Campian 
might  restrain  Parsons's  vehemence,  and  Parsons  spur 
on  Campian's  gentleness,  and  so  each  act  as  the 
supplement  of  the  other,  and  each  also,  it  must  be 
confessed,  gave  advice  pretty  nearly  contradictory  to 
his  fellow's  if  occasion  should  require,  "  without  the 
danger,"  as  their  writers  have  it,  "  of  seeming  change- 
able and  inconsistent." 

The  upshot  of  this  conversation  was,  that  in  a  day 
or  two  (during  which  time  Mr.  Leigh  and  Eustace  also 
had  made  the  amende  honorable,  and  matters  went 
smoothly  enough)  Father  Campian  asked  Father 
Francis  the  household  chaplain  to  allow  him,  as  an 
especial  favour,  to  hear  Eustace's  usual  confession  on 
the  ensuing  Friday. 

Poor  Father  Francis  dared  not  refuse  so  great  a 
man;  and  assented  with  an  inward  groan,  knowing 
well  that  the  intent  was  to  worm  out  some  family 
secrets,  whereby  his  power  would  be  diminished,  and 
the  Jesuits'  increased.  For  the  regular  priesthood 
and   the   Jesuits  throughout  England   were   toward 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  ■     115 

each  other  in  a  state  of  armed  neutrality,  which 
wanted  but  little  at  any  moment  to  become  open 
war,  as  it  did  in  James  the  First's  time,  when  those 
meek  missionaries,  by  their  gentle  moral  tortures, 
literally  hunted  to  death  the  poor  Popish  bishop  of 
Hippopotamus  (that  is  to  say,  London)  for  the  time 
being. 

However,  Campian  heard  Eustace's  confession ;  and 
by  putting  to  him  such  questions  as  may  be  easily 
conceived  by  those  who  know  anything  about  the  con- 
fessional, discovered  satisfactorily  enough,  that  he 
was  what  Campian  would  have  called  "in  love:" 
though  I  should  question  much  the  propriety  of  the 
term  as  applied  to  any  facts  which  poor  prurient 
Campian  discovered,  or  indeed  knew  how  to  discover, 
seeing  that  a  swine  has  no  eye  for  pearls.  But  he  had 
found  out  enough :  he  smiled,  and  set  to  work  next 
vigorously  to  discover  who  the  lady  might  be. 

If  he  had  frankly  said  to  Eustace,  "I  feel  for  you ; 
and  if  your  desires  are  reasonable,  or  lawful,  or  pos- 
sible, I  will  help  you  with  all  my  heart  and  soul,"  he 
might  have  had  the  young  man's  secret  heart,  and 
saved  himself  an  hour's  trouble ;  but,  of  course,  he 
took  instinctively  the  crooked  and  suspicious  method, 
expected  to  find  the  case  the  worst  possible, — as  a 
man  was  bound  to  do  who  had  been  trained  to  take 
the  lowest  possible  view  of  human  nature,  and  to  con- 
sider the  basest  motives  as  the  mainspring  of  all 
human  action, — and  began  his  moral  torture  accord- 
ingly by  a  series  of  delicate  questions,  which  poor 
Eustace  dodged  in  every  possible  way,  though  he  knew 


116  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

that  the  good  father  was  too  cunning  for  him,  and 
that  he  must  give  in  at  last.  Nevertheless,  like  a 
rabbit  who  runs  squealing  round  and  round  before 
the  weasel,  into  whose  jaws  it  knows  that  it  must 
jump  at  last  by  force  of  fascination,  he  parried  and 
parried,  and  pretended  to  be  stupid,  and  surprised, 
and  honourably  scrupulous,  and  even  angry;  while 
every  question  as  to  her  being  married  or  single, 
Catholic  or  heretic,  English  or  foreign,  brought  his 
tormentor  a  step  nearer  the  goal.  At  last,  when  Cam- 
pian,  finding  the  business  not  such  a  very  bad  one, 
had  asked  something  about  her  worldly  wealth,  Eustace 
saw  a  door  of  escape  and  sprang  at  it 

"  Even  if  she  be  a  heretic,  she  is  heiress  to  one  of 
the  wealthiest  merchants  in  Devon." 

"  Ah  !"  said  Campian,  thoughtfully.  "And  she  is 
but  eighteen,  you  sayf 

"Only  eighteen." 

"  Ah !  well,  my  son,  there  is  time.  She  may  be 
reconciled  to  the  Church  :  or  you  may  change." 

"I  shall  die  first." 

"Ah,  poor  lad!  Well;  she  may  be  reconciled, 
and  her  wealth  may  be  of  use  to  the  cause  of  heaven." 

"  And  it  shall  be  of  use.  Only  absolve  me,  and  let 
me  be  at  peace.  Let  me  have  but  her,"  he  cried 
piteously.  "  I  do  not  want  her  wealth, — not  I !  Let 
me  have  but  her,  and  that  but  for  one  year,  one  month, 
one  day ! — and  all  the  rest, — money,  fame,  talents, 
yea,  my  life  itself,  hers  if  it  be  needed, — are  at  the 
service  of  Holy  Church.  Ay,  I  shall  glory  in  showing 
my  devotion  by  some  special  sacrifice, — some  desperate 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  117 

deed.  Prove  me  now,  and  see  what  there  is  I  will 
not  do!" 

And  so  Eustace  was  absolved ;  after  which  Campian 
added, — 

"  This  is  indeed  well,  my  son ;  for  there  is  a  thing 
to  be  done  now,  but  it  may  be  at  the  risk  of  life." 

"  Prove  me  !"  cried  Eustace  impatiently. 

"  Here  is  a  letter  which  was  brought  me  last  night ; 
no  matter  from  whence  -,  you  can  understand  it  better 
than  I,  and  I  longed  to  have  shown  it  you,  but  that  I 
feared  my  son  had  become " 

"  You  feared  wrongly,  then,  my  dear  Father  Cam- 
pian." 

So  Campian  translated  to  him  the  cipher  of  the 
letter. 

"  This  to  Evan  Morgans,  gentleman,  at  Mr.  Leigh's 
house  in  Moorwinstow,  Devonshire.  News  may  be 
had  by  one  who  will  go  to  the  shore  of  Clovelly,  any 
evening  after  the  25th  of  November,  at  dead  low-tide, 
and  there  watch  for  a  boat,  rowed  by  one  with  a  red 
beard,  and  a  Portugal  by  his  speech.  If  he  be  asked, 
*  How  many  V  he  will  answer,  '  Eight  hundred  and  one.' 
Take  his  letters  and  read  them.  If  the  shore  be  watched, 
let  him  who  comes  show  a  light  three  times  in  a  safe 
place  under  the  cliff  above  the  town ;  below  is  danger- 
ous landing.     Farewell,  and  expect  great  things  ! " 

"  I  will  go,"  said  Eustace ;  "  to-morrow  is  the  25th, 
and  I  know  a  sure  and  easy  place.  Your  friend  seems 
to  know  these  shores  well." 

"  Ah !  what  is  it  we  do  not  know^"  said  Campian, 
with  a  mysterious  smile.     "And  now 'J " 


118  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

"  And  now,  to  prove  to  you  how  I  trust  to  you,  you 
shall  come  with  me,  and  see  this — the  lady  of  whom 
I  spoke,  and  judge  for  yourself  whether  my  fault  is 
not  a  venial  one." 

"Ah,  my  son,  have  I  not  absolved  you  already^ 
What  have  I  to  do  with  fair  faces  1  Nevertheless,  I 
will  come,  both  to  show  you  that  I  trust  you,  and  it 
may  be  to  help  towards  reclaiming  a  heretic,  and  sav- 
ing a  lost  soul :  who  knows  f 

So  the  two  set  out  together;  and,  as  it  was  ap- 
pointed, they  had  just  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill  between 
Chapel  and  Stow  mill,  when  up  the  lane  came  none 
other  than  Mistress  Kose  Salterne  herself,  in  all  the 
glories  of  a  new  scarlet  hood,  from  under  which  her 
large  dark  languid  eyes  gleamed  soft  lightnings  through 
poor  Eustace's  heart  and  marrow.  Up  to  them  she 
tripped  on  delicate  ankles  and  tiny  feet,  tall,  lithe, 
and  graceful,  a  true  West-country  lass;  and  as  she 
passed  them  with  a  pretty  blush  and  courtesy,  even 
Campian  looked  back  at  the  fair  innocent  creature, 
whose  long  dark  curls,  after  the  then  country  fashion, 
rolled  down  from  beneath  the  hood  below  her  waist, 
entangling  the  soul  of  Eustace  Leigh  within  their 
glossy  nets. 

"  There ! "  whispered  he,  trembling  from  head  to 
foot.     "  Can  you  excuse  me  now  f 

"  I  had  excused  you  long  ago,"  said  the  kind-hearted 
father.  "  Alas,  that  so  much  fair  red  and  white  should 
have  been  created  only  as  a  feast  for  worms  ! " 

"A  feast  for  gods  you  mean!"  cried  Eustace,  on 
whose  common  sense  the  naive  absurdity  of  the  last 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  119 

speech  struck  keenly;  and  then,  as  if  to  escape  the 
scolding  which  he  deserved  for  his  heathenry, — 

"Will  you  let  me  return  for  a  momenta  I  will 
follow  you  :  let  me  go  ! " 

Campian  saw  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  say  no,  and 
nodded.  Eustace  darted  from  his  side,  and  running 
across  a  field,  met  Kose  full  at  the  next  turn  of  the 
road. 

She  started,  and  gave  a  pretty  little  shriek. 

"  Mr  Leigh  !     I  thought  you  had  gone  forward." 

"I  came  back  to  speak  to  you,  Rose — Mistress 
Salterne,  I  mean." 

"Tomer' 

"To  you  I  must  speak,  tell  you  all,  or  die  !"  And 
he  pressed  up  close  to  her.  She  shrank  back  some- 
what frightened. 

"Do  not  stir ;  do  not  go,  I  implore  you !  Rose, 
only  hear  me  !"  And  fiercely  and  passionately  seizing 
her  by  the  hand,  he  poured  out  the  whole  story  of  his 
love,  heaping  her  with  every  fantastic  epithet  of 
admiration  which  he  could  devise. 

There  was  little,  perhaps,  of  all  his  words  which 
Rose  had  not  heard  many  a  time  before ;  but  there 
was  a  quiver  in  his  voice,  and  a  fire  in  his  eye,  from 
which  she  shrank  by  instinct. 

"  Let  me  go  !"  she  said ;  "you  are  too  rough,  sir  !" 

"Ay!"  he  said,  seizing  now  both  her  hands, 
"rougher,  perhaps,  than  the  gay  gallants  of  Bideford, 
who  serenade  you,  and  write  sonnets  to  you,  and  send 
you  posies.  Rougher,  but  more  loving.  Rose !  Do 
not  turn  away !     I  shall  die  if  you  take  your  eyes  off 


120  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

me!  Tell  me, — tell  me,  now  here — this  moment — 
before  we  part — if  I  may  love  you  ! " 

"Go  away !"  she  answered,  struggling,  and  burst- 
ing into  tears.  "This  is  too  rude.  If  I  am  but  a 
merchant's  daughter,  1  am  God's  child.  Remember 
that  I  am  alone.  Leave  me ;  go !  or  I  will  call  for 
help!" 

Eustace  had  heard  or  read  somewhere,  that  such 
expressions  in  a  woman's  mouth  were  mere  fagons  de 
parler,  and  on  the  whole  signs  that  she  had  no  objec- 
tion to  be  alone,  and  did  not  intend  to  call  for  help ; 
and  he  only  grasped  her  hands  the  more  fiercely,  and 
looked  into  her  face  with  keen  and  hungry  eyes ;  but 
she  was  in  earnest  nevertheless,  and  a  loud  shriek 
made  him  aware  that,  if  he  wished  to  save  his  own 
good  name,  he  must  go  :  but  there  was  one  question, 
for  an  answer  to  which  he  would  risk  his  very  life. 

"  Yes,  proud  woman  !  I  thought  so  !  Some  one  of 
those  gay  gallants  has  been  beforehand  with  me.  Tell 
me  who " 

But  she  broke  from  him,  and  passed  him,  and  fled 
down  the  lane. 

"Mark  it!"  cried  he,  after  her.  "You  shall  rue 
the  day  when  you  despised  Eustace  Leigh  !  Mark  it, 
proud  beauty ! "  And  he  turned  back  to  join  Campian, 
who  stood  in  some  trepidation. 

"  You  have  not  hurt  the  maiden,  my  son  ?  I  thought 
I  heard  a  scream." 

"  Hurt  her !  No.  Would  God  that  she  were  dead, 
nevertheless,  and  I  by  her!  Say  no  more  to  me, 
father.    We  will  home."    Even  Campian  knew  enough 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  121 

of  the  world  to  guess  what  had  happened,  and  they 
both  hurried  home  in  silence. 

And  so  Eustace  Leigh  played  his  move,  and  lost  it. 

Poor  little  Kose,  having  run  nearly  to  Chapel, 
stopped  for  very  shame,  and  walked  quietly  by  the 
cottages  which  stood  opposite  the  gate,  and  then 
turned  up  the  lane  towards  Moorwinstow  village, 
whither  she  was  bound.  But  on  second  thoughts,  she 
felt  herself  so  "red  and  flustered,"  that  she  was  afraid 
of  going  into  the  village,  for  fear  (as  she  said  to  her- 
self) of  making  people  talk,  and  so,  turning  into  a 
by-path,  struck  away  toward  the  clifis,  to  cool  her 
blushes  in  the  sea-breeze.  And  there  finding  a  quiet 
grassy  nook  beneath  the  crest  of  the  rocks,  she  sat 
down  on  the  turf,  and  fell  into  a  great  meditation. 

Rose  Salteme  was  a  thorough  specimen  of  a  West- 
coast  maiden,  full  of  passionate  impulsive  afi*ections, 
and  wild  dreamy  imaginations,  a  fit  subject,  as  the 
North-Devon  women  are  still,  for  all  romantic  and 
gentle  superstitions.  Left  early  without  a  mother's 
care,  she  had  fed  her  fancy  upon  the  legends  and 
ballads  of  her  native  land,  till  she  believed — what  did 
she  not  believe  1 — of  mermaids  and  pixies,  charms  and 
witches,  dreams  and  omens,  and  all  that  world  of 
magic  in  which  most  of  the  countrywomen,  and  country- 
men too,  believed  firmly  enough  but  twenty  years  ago. 
Then  her  father's  house  was  seldom  without  some 
merchant,  or  sea-captain  from  foreign  parts,  who,  like 
Othello,  had  his  tales  of — 

"  Antres  vast,  and  deserts  idle, 
Of  rough  quarries,  rocks,  and  hills  wliose  heads  reach  heaven." 


122  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

And,— 

"  And  of  the  cannibals  that  each  other  eat, 
The  anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders. " 

All  which  tales,  she,  like  Desdemona,  devoured  with 
greedy  ears,  whenever  she  could  "the  house  affairs 
with  haste  despatch."  And  when  these  failed,  there 
was  still  boundless  store  of  wonders  open  to  her  in 
old  romances  which  were  then  to  be  found  in  every 
English  house  of  the  better  class.  The  Legend  of 
King  Arthur,  Florice  and  Blanchefloui*,  Sir  Ysum- 
bras.  Sir  Guy  of  Warwick,  Palamon  and  Arcite,  and 
the  Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  were  with  her  text-books 
and  canonical  authorities.  And  lucky  it  was,  perhaps, 
for  her,  that  Sidney's  Arcadia  was  still  in  petto,  or 
Mr.  Frank  (who  had  already  seen  the  first  book  or  two 
in  manuscript,  and  extolled  it  above  all  books  past, 
present,  or  to  come)  would  have  surely  brought  a  copy 
down  for  Rose,  and  thereby  have  turned  her  poor 
little  flighty  brains  upside  down  for  ever.  And  with 
her  head  full  of  these,  it  was  no  wonder  if  she  had 
likened  herself  of  late  more  than  once  to  some  of 
those  peerless  princesses  of  old,  for  whose  fair  hand 
paladins  and  kaisers  thundered  against  each  other  in 
tilted  field;  and  perhaps  she  would  not  have  been 
sorry  (provided,  of  course,  no  one  was  killed)  if  duels 
and  passages  of  arms  in  honour  of  her,  as  her  father 
reasonably  dreaded,  had  actually  taken  place. 

For  Rose  was  not  only  well  aware  that  she  was 
wooed,  but  found  the  said  wooing  (and  little  shame  to 
her)  a  very  pleasant  process.     Not  that  she  had  any 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  123 

wish  to  break  hearts :  she  did  not  break  her  heart  for 
any  of  her  admirers,  and  why  should  they  break  theirs 
for  her  1  They  were  all  very  charming,  each  in  his 
way  (the  gentlemen,  at  least ;  for  she  had  long  since 
learnt  to  turn  up  her  nose  at  merchants  and  burghers) ; 
but  one  of  them  was  not  so  very  much  better  than  the 
other. 

Of  course,  Mr.  Frank  Leigh  was  the  most  charm- 
ing ;  but  then,  as  a  courtier  and  squire  of  dames,  he 
had  never  given  her  a  sign  of  real  love,  nothing  but 
sonnets  and  compliments,  and  there  was  no  trusting 
such  things  from  a  gallant,  who  was  said  (though,  by 
the  by,  most  scandalously)  to  have  a  lady  love  at 
Milan,  and  another  at  Vienna,  and  half-a-dozen  in  the 
Court,  and  half-a-dozen  more  in  the  city. 

And  very  charming  was  Mr.  William  Gary,  with 
his  quips  and  his  jests,  and  his  galliards  and  lavoltas ; 
over  and  above  his  rich  inheritance ;  but  then,  charm- 
ing also  Mr.  Coffin  of  Portledge,  though  he  were  a 
little  proud  and  stately ;  but  which  of  the  two  should 
she  choose  1  It  would  be  very  pleasant  to  be  mistress 
of  Clovelly  Court ;  but  just  as  pleasant  to  find  herself 
lady  of  Portledge,  where  the  Coffins  had  lived  ever 
since  Noah's  flood  (if,  indeed,  they  had  not  merely  re- 
turned thither  after  that  temporary  displacement),  and 
to  bring  her  wealth  into  a  family  which  was  as  proud 
of  its  antiquity  as  any  nobleman  in  Devon,  and  might 
have  made  a  fourth  to  that  famous  trio  of  Devonshire 
Cs,  of  which  it  is  written, — 

*'  Crocker,  Cruwys,  and  Copplestone, 
When  the  Conqueror  came  were  all  at  home. " 


124  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

And  Mr.  Hugh  Fortescue,  too — people  said  that 
he  was  certain  to  become  a  great  soldier — perhaps  as 
great  as  his  brother  Arthur  —  and  that  would  be 
pleasant  enough,  too,  though  he  was  but  the  younger 
son  of  an  innumerable  family :  but  then,  so  was  Amyas 
Leigh.  Ah,  poor  Amyas !  Her  girl's  fancy  for  him 
had  vanished,  or  rather,  perhaps,  it  was  very  much 
what  it  always  had  been,  only  that  four  or  five  more 
girl's  fancies  beside  it  had  entered  in,  and  kept  it  in 
due  subjection.  But  still,  she  could  not  help  thinking 
a  good  deal  about  him,  and  his  voyage,  and  the  reports 
of  his  great  strength,  and  beauty,  and  valour,  which 
had  already  reached  her  in  that  out-of-the-way  comer ; 
and  though  she  was  not  in  the  least  in  love  with  him, 
she  could  not  help  hoping  that  he  had  at  least  (to  put 
her  pretty  little  thought  in  the  mildest  shape)  not 
altogether  forgotten  her;  and  was  hungering,  too, 
with  all  her  fancy,  to  give  him  no  peace  till  he  had 
told  her  all  the  wonderful  things  which  he  had  seen 
and  done  in  this  ever-memorable  voyage.  So  that 
altogether,  it  was  no  wonder,  if  in  her  last  night's 
dream  the  figure  of  Amyas  had  been  even  more 
forward  and  troublesome  than  that  of  Frank  or  the 
rest. 

But,  moreover,  another  figure  had  been  forward 
and  troublesome  enough  in  last  night's  sleep-world; 
and  forward  and  troublesome  enough,  too,  now  in  to- 
day's waking-world,  namely,  Eustace,  the  rejected. 
How  strange  that  she  should  have  dreamt  of  him  the 
night  before !  and  dreamt,  too,  of  his  fighting  with 
Mr.  Frank  and  Mr.  Amyas  !     It  must  be  a  warning — ■ 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  125 

see,  she  had  met  him  the  very  next  day  in  this  strange 
way ;  so  the  first  half  of  her  dream  had  come  true ; 
and  after  what  had  past,  she  only  had  to  breathe  a 
whisper,  and  the  second  part  of  the  dream  would 
come  true  also.  If  she  wished  for  a  passage  of  arms 
in  her  own  honour,  she  could  easily  enough  compass 
one :  not  that  she  would  do  it  for  worlds !  And  after 
all,  though  Mr.  Eustace  had  been  very  rude  and 
naughty,  yet  still  it  was  not  his  own  fault ;  he  could 
not  help  being  in  love  with  her.  And — and,  in  short, 
the  poor  little  maid  felt  herseK  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant personages  on  earth,  with  all  the  cares  (or 
hearts)  of  the  country  in  her  keeping,  and  as  much 
perplexed  with  matters  of  weight  as  ever  was  any 
Cleophila,  or  Dianeme,  Fiordispina  or  Flourdeluce,  in 
verse  run  tame,  or  prose  run  mad. 

Poor  little  Eose !  Had  she  but  had  a  mother ! 
But  she  was  to  learn  her  lesson,  such  as  it  was,  in 
another  school.  She  was  too  shy  (too  proud  perhaps) 
to  tell  her  aunt  her  mighty  troubles ;  but  a  counsellor 
she  must  have ;  and  after  sitting  with  her  head  in  her 
hands,  for  half-an-hour  or  more,  she  arose  suddenly, 
and  started  off  along  the  cliffs  towards  Marsland.  She 
would  go  and  see  Lucy  Passmore,  the  white  witch ; 
Lucy  knew  everything ;  Lucy  would  tell  her  what  to 
do ;  perhaps  even  whom  to  marry. 

Lucy  was  a  fat,  jolly  woman  of  fifty,  with  little 
pig-eyes,  which  twinkled  like  sparks  of  fire,  and  eye- 
brows which  sloped  upwards  and  outwards,  like  those 
of  a  satyr,  as  if  she  had  been  (as  indeed  she  had)  all 
her  life  looking  out  of  the  comers  of  her  eyes.     Her 


126  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

qualifications  as  white  witch  were  boundless  cunning, 
equally  boundless  good  nature,  considerable  knowledge 
of  human  weaknesses,  some  mesmeric  power,  some 
skill  in  "yarbs,"  as  she  called  her  simples,  a  firm  faith 
in  the  virtue  of  her  own  incantations,  and  the  faculty 
of  holding  her  tongue.  By  dint  of  these  she  contrived 
to  gain  a  fair  share  of  money,  and  also  (which  she 
liked  even  better)  of  power,  among  the  simple  folk 
for  many  miles  round.  If  a  child  was  scalded,  a  tooth 
ached,  a  piece  of  silver  was  stolen,  a  heifer  shrew- 
struck,  a  pig  bewitched,  a  young  damsel  crost  in  love, 
Lucy  was  called  in,  and  Lucy  found  a  remedy,  especi- 
ally for  the  latter  complaint.  Now  and  then  she 
found  herself  on  ticklish  ground,  for  the  kind-hearted- 
ness which  compelled  her  to  help  all  distressed  damsels 
out  of  a  scrape,  sometimes  compelled  her  also  to  help 
them  into  one ;  whereon,  enraged  fathers  called  Lucy 
ugly  names,  and  threatened  to  send  her  into  Exeter 
gaol  for  a  witch,  and  she  smiled  quietly,  and  hinted 
that  if  she  were  "  hke  some  that  were  ready  to  return 
evil  for  evil,  such  talk  as  that  would  bring  no  blessing 
on  them  that  spoke  it;"  which  being  translated  into 
plain  English,  meant,  "  If  you  trouble  me,  I  will  over- 
look (i.e.  fascinate)  you,  and  then  your  pigs  will  die,  your 
horses  stray,  your  cream  turn  sour,  your  barns  be  fired, 
your  son  have  St.  Vitus's  dance,  your  daughter  fits, 
and  so  on,  woe  on  woe,  till  you  are  very  probably 
starved  to  death  in  a  ditch,  by  virtue  of  this  terrible 
little  eye  of  mine,  at  which,  in  spite  of  all  your  swear- 
ing and  bullying,  you  know  you  are  now  shaking  in 
your  shoes  for  fear.     So  you  had  much  better  hold 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  127 

your  tongue,  give  me  a  drink  of  cider,  and  leave  ill 
alone,  lest  you  make  it  worse." 

Not  that  Lucy  ever  proceeded  to  any  such  fearful 
extremities.  On  the  contrary,  her  boast,  and  her 
belief  too,  was,  that  she  was  sent  into  the  world  to 
make  poor  souls  as  happy  as  she  could,  by  lawful 
means,  of  course,  if  possible,  but  if  not — why  unlaw- 
ful ones  were  better  than  none;  for  she  "couldn't 
abear  to  see  the  poor  creatures  taking  on;  she  was 
too,  too  tender-hearted."  And  so  she  was,  to  every 
one  but  her  husband,  a  tall,  simple-hearted  rabbit- 
faced  man,  a  good  deal  older  than  herself.  Fully 
agreeing  with  Sir  Eichard  Grenvile's  great  axiom, 
that  he  who  cannot  obey  cannot  rule,  Lucy  had  been 
for  the  last  five-and-twenty  years  training  him  pretty 
smartly  to  obey  her,  with  the  intention,  it  is  to  be 
charitably  hoped,  of  letting  him  rule  her  in  turn  when 
his  lesson  was  perfected.  He  bore  his  honours,  how- 
ever, meekly  enough,  having  a  boundless  respect  for 
his  wife's  wisdom,  and  a  firm  belief  in  her  supernatural 
powers,  and  let  her  go  her  own  way  and  earn  her 
own  money,  while  he  got  a  little  more  in  a  truly  pas- 
toral method  (not  extinct  yet  along  those  lonely  cliffs), 
by  feeding  a  herd  of  some  dozen  donkeys  and  twenty 
goats.  The  donkeys  fetched,  at  each  low-tide,  white 
shell-sand  which  was  to  be  sold  for  manure  to  the 
neighbouring  farmers ;  the  goats  furnished  milk  and 
"kiddy-pies;"  and  when  there  was  neither  milking 
nor  sand-carrying  to  be  done,  old  Will  Passmore  just 
sat  under  a  sunny  rock  and  watched  the  buck-goats 
rattle  their  horns  together,  thinking  about  nothing  at 


128  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

all,  and  taking  very  good  care  all  the  while  neither  to 
inquire  nor  to  see  who  came  in  and  out  of  his  little 
cottage  in  the  glen. 

The  Prophetess,  when  Eose  approached  her  oracular 
cave,  was  seated  on  a  tripod  in  front  of  the  fire,  dis- 
tilling strong  waters  out  of  penny  royal  But  no 
sooner  did  her  distinguished  visitor  appear  at  the 
hatch,  than  the  still  was  left  to  take  care  of  itself, 
and  a  clean  apron  and  mutch  having  been  slipt  on, 
Lucy  welcomed  Rose  with  endless  courtesies,  and — 
"Bless  my  dear  soul  alive,  who  ever  would  have 
thought  to  see  the  Rose  of  Torridge  to  my  poor  little 
place!" 

Rose  sat  down:  and  then?  How  to  begin  was 
more  than  she  knew,  and  she  stayed  silent  a  full  five 
minutes,  looking  earnestly  at  the  point  of  her  shoe, 
till  Lucy,  who  was  an  adept  in  such  cases,  thought  it 
best  to  proceed  to  business  at  once,  and  save  Rose 
the  dehcate  operation  of  opening  the  ball  herself; 
and  so,  in  her  own  way,  half  fawning,  half  familiar — 

"  Well,  my  dear  young  lady,  and  what  is  it  I  can 
do  for  ye  1  For  I  guess  you  want  a  bit  of  old  Lucy's 
help,  eh?  Though  I'm  most  mazed  to  see  ye  here, 
surely.  I  should  have  supposed  that  pretty  face  could 
manage  they  sort  of  matters  for  itself.     Eh  1" 

Rose,  thus  bluntly  charged,  confessed  at  once, 
and  with  many  blushes  and  hesitations,  made  her 
soon  understand  that  what  she  wanted  was  "  To  have 
her  fortune  told." 

"  Eh  ?  Oh  !  I  see.  The  pretty  face  has  managed 
it  a  bit  too  well  already,  eh  ?    Tu  manj^  o'mun,  pure 


BEING  CKOST  IN  LOVE.  129 

fellows  ^  Well,  tain't  every  mayden  has  her  pick  and 
choose,  like  some  I  know  of,  as  be  blest  in  love  by 
stars  above.    So  you  h'aint  made  up  your  mind,  thenl" 

Eose  shook  her  head. 

"  Ah — well,"  she  went  on,  in  a  half  bantering  tone. 
"  Not  so  asy,  is  it,  then  1  One's  gude  for  one  thing, 
and  one  for  another,  eh  1  One  has  the  blood,  and 
another  the  money." 

And  so  the  "  cunning  woman  "  (as  she  truly  was), 
talking  half  to  herself,  ran  over  all  the  names  which 
she  thought  likely,  peering  at  Rose  all  the  while  out 
of  the  corners  of  her  foxy  bright  eyes,  while  Rose 
stirred  the  peat  ashes  steadfastly  with  the  point  of 
her  little  shoe,  half  angry,  half  ashamed,  half 
frightened,  to  find  that  "the  cunning  woman"  had 
guessed  so  well  both  her  suitors  and  her  thoughts  about 
them,  and  tried  to  look  unconcerned  at  each  name  as 
it  came  out. 

"Well,  well,"  said  Lucy,  who  took  nothing  by  her 
move,  simply  because  there  was  nothing  to  take ; 
"  think  over  it — think  over  it,  my  dear  life ;  and  if 
you  did  set  your  mind  on  any  one — why,  then — 
then  maybe  I  might  help  you  to  a  sight  of  him." 

"Asight  of  himi" 

"His  sperrit,  dear  life,  his  sperrit  only,  I  mane. 
I  'udn't  have  no  keeping  company  in  my  house,  no, 
not  for  gowld  untowld,  I  'udn't;  but  the  sperrit  of 
mun — to  see  whether  mun  would  be  true  or  not,  you'd 
like  to  know  that,  now,  'udn't  you,  my  darling  *?" 

Eose  sighed,  and  stirred  the  ashes  about  vehe- 
mently. 

VOL.  L  K  w.  H. 


130  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

"I  must  first  know  who  it  is  to  be.  If  you  could 
show  me  that — now^" 

"  Oh,  I  can  show  ye  that,  tu,  I  can.  Ben  there's  a 
way  to  't,  a  sure  way ;  but  'tis  mortal  cold  for  the 
time  o'  year,  you  zee." 

"But  what  is  it,  then ?"  said  Rose,  who  had  in  her 
heart  been  longing  for  something  of  that  very  kind, 
and  had  half  made  up  her  mind  to  ask  for  a  charm. 

"Why,  you'm  not  afraid  to  goo  into  the  say  by 
night  for  a  minute,  are  you  1  And  to-morrow  night 
would  serve,  too ;  'twill  be  just  low  tide  to  midnight." 

"  If  you  would  come  with  me,  perhaps " 

"  I'll  come,  I'll  come,  and  stand  within  call,  to  be 
sure.  Only  do  ye  mind  this,  dear  soul  alive,  not  to  goo 
telling  a  crumb  about  mun,  noo,  not  for  the  world,  or 
yu'll  see  nought  at  all,  indeed,  now.  And  beside, 
there's  a  noxious  business  grow'd  up  against  me  up 
to  Chapel  there ;  and  I  hear  tell  how  Mr.  Leigh  saith 
I  shall  to  Exeter  gaol  for  a  witch — did  ye  ever  hear 
the  likes  1 — because  his  groom  Jan  saith  I  overlooked 
mun — the  Papist  dog!  And  now  never  he  nor  th' 
ould  Father  Francis  goo  by  me  without  a  spetting,  and 
saying  of  their  Aves  and  Malificas — I  do  know  what 
their  Rooman  Latin  do  mane,  zo  well  as  ever  they,  I 
du ! — and  a  making  o'  their  charms  and  incantations 
to  their  saints  and  idols !  They  be  mortal  feared  of 
witches,  they  Papists,  and  mortal  hard  on  'em,  even 
on  a  pure  body  like  me,  that  doth  a  bit  in  the  white 
way ;  'case  why  you  see,  dear  life,"  said  she,  with  one 
of  her  humorous  twinkles,  "tu  to  a  trade  do  never 
agree.     Do  ye  try  my  bit  of  a  charm,  now ;  do  ye  ! " 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  131 

Rose  could  not  resist  the  temptation ;  and  between 
them  both  the  charm  was  agreed  on,  and  the  next 
night  was  fixed  for  its  trial,  on  the  payment  of  certain 
current  coins  of  the  realm  (for  Lucy,  of  course,  must 
live  by  her  trade) ;  and  slipping  a  tester  into  the 
dame's  hand  as  earnest,  Rose  went  away  home,  and 
got  there  in  safety. 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  at  the  very  hour  that  Eustace 
had  been  prosecuting  his  suit  in  the  lane  at  Moorwin- 
stow,  a  very  different  scene  was  being  enacted  in  Mrs. 
Leigh's  room  at  Burrough. 

For  the  night  before,  Amyas,  as  he  was  going  to 
bed,  heard  his  brother  Frank  in  the  next  room  tune 
his  lute,  and  then  begin  to  sing.  And  both  their 
windows  being  open,  and  only  a  thin  partition  between 
the  chambers,  Amyas's  admiring  ears  came  in  for  every 
word  of  the  following  canzonet,  sung  in  that  delicate 
and  mellow  tenor  voice  for  which  Frank  was  famed 
among  all  fair  ladies : — 

"  Ah  tyrant  love,  Megsera's  serpents  bearing, 
Why  thus  requite  my  sighs  with  venoui'd  smart  ? 

Ah,  ruthless  dove,  the  vulture's  talons  wearing, 
Why  flesh  them,  traitress,  in  this  faithful  heart  ? 

Is  this  my  meed  ?    Must  dragons'  teeth  alone 
In  Venus'  lawns  by  lovers'  hands  be  sown  ? 

"  Nay,  gentlest  Cupid  ;  'twas  my  pride  undid  me  ; 
Nay,  guiltless  dove  ;  by  mine  o-vvn  wound  I  fell. 

To  worship,  not  to  wed,  Celestials  bid  me  : 
I  dreamt  to  mate  in  heaven,  and  wake  in  hell ; 

For  ever  doom'd,  Ixion-like,  to  reel 
On  mine  own  passions'  ever-burning  wheel. " 

At  which  the  simple  sailor  sighed,  and  longed  that 


132  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

he  could  write  such  neat  verses,  and  sing  them  so 
sweetly.  How  he  would  besiege  the  ear  of  Eose 
Salterne  with  amorous  ditties!  But  still,  he  could 
not  be  everything ;  and  if  he  had  the  bone  and  muscle 
of  the  family,  it  was  but  fair  that  Frank  should  have 
the  brains  and  voice ;  and,  after  all,  he  was  bone  of 
his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,  and  it  was  just  the  same 
as  if  he  himself  could  do  all  the  fine  things  which  Frank 
could  do ;  for  as  long  as  one  of  the  family  won  honour, 
what  matter  which  of  them  it  was"?  Whereon  he 
shouted  through  the  wall,  "Good  night,  old  song- 
thrush  ;  I  suppose  I  need  not  pay  the  musicians." 

"What,  awake?"  answered  Frank.  "Come  in 
here,  and  lull  me  to  sleep  with  a  sea-song." 

So  Amyas  went  in,  and  found  Frank  laid  on  the 
outside  of  his  bed  not  yet  undrest. 

" I  am  a  bad  sleeper,"  said  he ;  "I  spend  more 
time,  I  fear,  in  burning  the  midnight  oil  than  prudent 
men  should.  Come  and  be  my  jongleur,  my  minne- 
singer, and  tell  me  about  Andes,  and  cannibals,  and 
the  ice-regions,  and  the  fire-regions,  and  the  paradises 
of  the  West." 

So  Amyas  sat  down,  and  told ;  but  somehow,  every 
story  which  he  tried  to  tell  came  round,  by  crooked 
paths,  yet  sure,  to  none  other  point  than  Rose  Salterne, 
and  how  he  thought  of  her  here,  and  thought  of  her 
there,  and  how  he  wondered  what  she  would  say  if  she 
had  seen  him  in  this  adventure,  and  how  he  longed  to 
have  had  her  with  him  to  show  her  that  glorious  sight, 
till  Frank  let  him  have  his  own  way,  and  then  out 
came  the  whole  story  of  the  simple  fellow's  daily  and 


BEING  CKOST  IN  LOVE.  133 

hourly  devotion  to  her,  through  those  three  long  years 
of  world-wide  wanderings. 

"  And  oh,  Frank,  I  could  hardly  think  of  anything 
but  her  in  the  church  the  other  day,  God  forgive 
me !  and  it  did  seem  so  hard  for  her  to  be  the  only 
face  which  I  did  not  see — and  have  not  seen  her  yet, 
either." 

"So  I  thought,  dear  lad,"  said  Frank,  with  one  of 
his  sweetest  smiles ;  "  and  tried  to  get  her  father  to 
let  her  impersonate  the  nymph  of  Torridge." 

"Did  you,  you  dear  kind  fellow  1  That  would 
have  been  too  delicious." 

"Just  so,  too  delicious;  wherefore,  I  suppose,  it 
was  ordained  not  to  be,  that  which  was  being  delicious 
enough." 

"And  is  she  as  pretty  as  ever?" 

"  Ten  times  as  pretty,  dear  lad,  as  half  the  young 
fellows  round  have  discovered.  If  you  mean  to  win 
her  and  wear  her  (and  God  grant  you  may  fare  no 
worse  !)  you  will  have  rivals  enough  to  get  rid  of." 

"  Humph !"  said  Amyas,  "  I  hope  I  shall  not  have 
to  make  short  work  with  some  of  them." 

"I  hope  not,"  said  Frank,  laughing.  "Now  go 
to  bed,  and  to-morrow  morning  give  your  sword  to 
mother  to  keep,  lest  you  should  be  tempted  to  draw 
it  on  any  of  her  Majesty's  lieges." 

"  No  fear  of  that,  Frank ;  I  am  no  swash-buckler, 
thank  God ;  but  if  any  one  gets  in  my  way,  I'll  serve 
him  as  the  mastiff  did  the  terrier,  and  just  drop  him 
over  the  quay  into  the  river,  to  cool  himself,  or  my 
name's  not  Amyas." 


134  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

And  the  giant  swung  himself  laughing  out  of  the 
room,  and  slept  all  night  like  a  seal,  not  without 
dreams,  of  course,  of  Rose  Salterne. 

The  next  morning,  according  to  his  wont,  he  went 
into  his  mother's  room,  whom  he  was  sure  to  find  up, 
and  at  her  prayers ;  for  he  liked  to  say  his  prayers, 
too,  by  her  side,  as  he  used  to  do  when  he  was  a  little 
boy.  It  seemed  so  homelike,  he  said,  after  three 
years'  knocking  up  and  down  in  no-man's  land.  But 
coming  gently  to  the  door,  for  fear  of  disturbing  her, 
and  entering  unperceived,  beheld  a  sight  which  stopped 
him  short. 

Mrs.  Leigh  was  sitting  in  her  chair,  with  her  face 
bowed  fondly  down  upon  the  head  of  his  brother 
Frank,  who  knelt  before  her,  his  face  buried  in  her 
lap.  Amyas  could  see  that  his  whole  form  was  quiver- 
ing with  stifled  emotion.  Their  mother  was  just 
finishing  the  last  words  of  a  well-known  text — 
— "for  my  sake,  and  the  Gospel's,  shall  receive  a 
hundredfold  in  this  present  life,  fathers,  and  mothers, 
and  brothers,  and  sisters." 

"But  not  a  wife  !"  interrupted  Frank,  with  a  voice 
stifled  with  sobs ;  "  that  was  too  precious  a  gift  for 
even  Him  to  promise  to  those  who  gave  up  a  first  lo\  e 
for  His  sake ! " 

"And  yet,"  said  he,  after  a  moment's  silence,  "has 
He  not  heaped  me  with  blessings  enough  already,  that 
I  must  repine  and  rage  at  His  refusing  me  one  more, 
even  though  that  one  be — No,  mother!  I  am  your 
son,  and  God's ;  and  you  shall  know  it,  even  though 
Amyas  never  does ! "    And  he  looked  up  with  his 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  135 

clear  blue  eyes  and  white  forehead ;  and  his  face  was 
as  the  face  of  an  angel. 

Both  of  them  saw  that  Amyas  was  present,  and 
started  and  blushed.  His  mother  motioned  him 
away  with  her  eyes,  and  he  went  quietly  out,  as  one 
stunned.     WTiy  had  his  name  been  mentioned  ? 

Love,  cunning  love,  told  him  all  at  once.  This 
was  the  meaning  of  last  night's  canzonet !  This  was 
why  its  words  had  seemed  to  fit  his  own  heart  so 
well !  His  brother  was  his  rival.  And  he  had  been 
telling  him  all  his  love  last  night.  What  a  stupid 
brute  he  was  !  How  it  must  have  made  poor  Frank 
wince !  And  then  Frank  had  listened  so  kindly ; 
even  bid  him  God  speed  in  his  suit.  What  a  gentle- 
man old  Frank  was,  to  be  sure !  No  wonder  the 
Queen  was  so  fond  of  him,  and  all  the  court  ladies ! 

Why,  if  it  came  to  that,  what  wonder  if  Rose 

Salterne  should  be  fond  of  him  too?  Hey-day! 
"  That  would  be  a  pretty  fish  to  find  in  my  net  when 
I  come  to  haul  itl"  quoth  Amyas  to  himself,  as  he 
paced  the  garden ;  and  clutching  desperately  hold  of 
his  locks  with  both  hands,  as  if  to  hold  his  poor  con- 
fused head  on  its  shoulders,  he  strode  and  tramped  up 
and  down  the  shell-paved  garden  walks  for  a  full  half 
hour,  till  Frank's  voice  (as  cheerful  as  ever,  though 
he  more  than  suspected  all)  called  him. 

"  Come  in  to  breakfast,  lad ;  and  stop  grinding 
and  creaking  upon  those  miserable  limpets,  before 
thou  hast  set  every  tooth  in  my  head  on  edge  !" 

Amyas,  whether  by  dint  of  holding  his  head 
straight,  or  by  higher  means,  had  got  the  thoughts  of 


136  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

the  said  head  straight  enough  by  this  tune ;  and  in 
he  came,  and  fell  to  upon  the  broiled  fish  and  strong 
ale,  with  a  sort  of  fury,  as  determined  to  do  his  duty 
to  the  utmost  in  all  matters  that  day ;  and  therefore, 
of  course,  in  that  most  important  matter  of  bodily 
sustenance;  while  his  mother  and  Frank  looked  at 
him,  not  without  anxiety  and  even  terror,  doubting 
what  turn  his  fancy  might  have  taken  in  so  new  a 
case ;  at  last — 

"  My  dear  Amyas,  you  will  really  heat  your  blood 
with  all  that  strong  ale !  Eemember,  those  who 
drink  beer,  think  beer." 

"Then  they  think  right  good  thoughts,  mother. 
And  in  the  meanwhile,  those  who  drink  water,  think 
water.     Eh,  old  Frank?  and  here's  your  health." 

"And  clouds  are  water,"  said  his  mother,  some- 
what reassured  by  his  genuine  good  humour ;  "  and 
so  are  rainbows ;  and  clouds  are  angels'  thrones,  and 
rainbows  the  sign  of  God's  peace  on  earth." 

Amyas  understood  the  hint,  and  laughed.  "  Then 
I'll  pledge  Frank  out  of  the  next  ditch,  if  it  please 
you  and  him.  But  first — I  say — he  must  hearken  to 
a  parable;  a  manner  mystery,  miracle  play,  I  have 
got  in  my  head,  like  what  they  have  at  Easter,  to  the 
town-hall.  Now  then,  hearken,  madam,  and  I  and 
Frank  will  act."  And  up  rose  Amyas,  and  shoved 
back  his  chair,  and  put  on  a  solemn  face. 

Mrs.  Leigh  looked  up,  trembling;  and  Frank,  he 
scarce  knew  why,  rose. 

"  No ;  you  pitch  again.  You  are  King  David,  and 
sit  still  upon  your  throne.     David  was  a  great  singer, 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  137 

you  know,  and  a  player  on  the  viols ;  and  ruddy,  too, 
and  of  a  fair  countenance;  so  that  will  fit.  Now, 
then,  mother,  don't  look  so  frightened.  I  am  not 
going  to  play  Goliath,  for  all  my  cubits ;  I  am  to  pre- 
sent Nathan  the  prophet.  Now,  David,  hearken,  for  I 
have  a  message  unto  thee,  O  King ! 

"There  were  two  men  in  one  city,  one  rich,  and 
the  other  poor :  and  the  rich  man  had  many  flocks 
and  herds,  and  all  the  fine  ladies  in  Whitehall  to  court 
if  he  liked ;  and  the  poor  man  had  nothing  but " 

And  in  spite  of  his  broad  honest  smile,  Amyas's 
deep  voice  began  to  tremble  and  choke. 

Frank  sprang  up,  and  burst  into  tears : — "  Oh  ! 
Amyas,  my  brother,  my  brother !  stop !  I  cannot 
endure  this.  Oh,  God!  was  it  not  enough  to  have 
entangled  myself  in  this  fatal  fancy,  but  over  and 
above,  I  must  meet  the  shame  of  my  brother's  dis- 
covering it?" 

"  What  shame,  then,  I'd  like  to  knowl"  said  Amyas, 
recovering  himself.  "  Look  here,  brother  Frank !  I've 
thought  it  all  over  in  the  garden ;  and  I  was  an  ass 
and  a  braggart  for  talking  to  you  as  I  did  last  night 
Of  course  you  love  her !  Everybody  must ;  and  I  was 
a  fool  for  not  recollecting  that ;  and  if  you  love  her, 
your  taste  and  mine  agree,  and  what  can  be  better? 
I  think  you  are  a  sensible  fellow  for  loving  her,  and 
you  think  me  one.  And  as  for  who  has  her,  why, 
you're  the  eldest;  and  first  come  first  served  is  the 
rule,  and  best  to  keep  to  it.  Besides,  brother  Frank, 
though  I'm  no  scholar,  yet  I'm  not  so  blind  but  that 
I  tell  the  difference  between  you  and  me;  and  of 


138  THE  TWO  WAYS  OF 

course  your  chance  against  mine,  for  a  hundred  to 
one ;  and  I  am  not  going  to  be  fool  enough  to  row 
against  wind  and  tide  too.  I'm  good  enough  for  her, 
I  hope  ;  but  if  I  am,  you  are  better,  and  the  good  dog 
may  run,  but  it's  the  best  that  takes  the  hare ;  and  so 
I  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the  matter  at  all ;  and 
if  you  marry  her,  why,  it  will  set  the  old  house  on  its 
legs  again,  and  that's  the  first  thing  to  be  thought  of, 
and  you  may  just  as  well  do  it  as  I,  and  better  too. 
Not  but  that  it's  a  plague,  a  horrible  plague !"  went 
on  Amyas,  with  a  ludicrously  doleful  visage ;  "but  so 
are  other  things  too,  by  the  dozen  ;  it's  all  in  the  day's 
work,  as  the  huntsman  said  when  the  lion  ate  him. 
One  would  never  get  through  the  furze-croft  if  one 
stopped  to  pull  out  the  prickles.  The  pig  didn't 
scramble  out  of  the  ditch  by  squeaking ;  and  the  less 
said  the  sooner  mended;  nobody  was  sent  into  the 
world  only  to  suck  honey-pots.  What  must  be  must, 
man  is  but  dust ;  if  you  can't  get  crumb,  you  must  fain 
eat  crust.  So  I'll  go  and  join  the  army  in  Ireland, 
and  get  it  out  of  my  head,  for  cannon  balls  fright 
away  love  as  well  as  poverty  does ;  and  that's  all  I've 
got  to  say."  Wherewith  Amyas  sat  down,  and  re- 
turned to  the  beer ;  while  Mrs.  Leigh  wept  tears  of 

joy- 

"Amyas!  Amyas!"  said  Frank;  "j^ou  must  not 
throw  away  the  hopes  of  years,  and  for  me,  too  !  Oh, 
how  just  was  your  parable  !  Ah  !  mother  mine  !  to 
what  use  is  all  my  scholarship  and  my  philosophy, 
when  this  dear  simple  sailor-lad  outdoes  me  at  the 
first  trial  of  courtesy  ! " 


BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE.  139 

"  My  children,  my  children,  which  of  you  shall  I 
love  best?  Which  of  you  is  the  more  noble?  I 
thanked  God  this  morning  for  having  given  me  one 
such  son ;  but  to  have  found  that  I  possess  two ! "  And 
Mrs.  Leigh  laid  her  head  on  the  table,  and  buried  her 
face  in  her  hands,  while  the  generous  battle  went  on. 

"  But,  dearest  Amyas ! " 

"But,  Frank!  if  you  don't  hold  your  tongue,  I 
must  go  forth.  It  was  quite  trouble  enough  to  make 
up  one's  mind,  without  having  you  afterwards  trying 
to  unmake  it  again." 

"  Amyas  !  if  you  give  her  up  to  me,  God  do  so  to 
me,  and  more  also,  if  I  do  not  hereby  give  her  up  to 
you!" 

"He  had  done  it  already — this  morning!"  said 
Mrs.  Leigh,  looking  up  through  her  tears.  "He  re- 
nounced her  for  ever  on  his  knees  before  me  !  only  he 
is  too  noble  to  tell  you  so." 

"  The  more  reason  I  should  copy  him,"  said  Amyas, 
setting  his  lips,  and  trying  to  look  desperately  deter- 
mined, and  then  suddenly  jumping  up,  he  leaped  upon 
Frank,  and  throwing  his  arms  round  his  neck,  sobbed 
out,  "  There,  there,  now  !  For  God's  sake,  let  us  for- 
get all,  and  think  about  our  mother,  and  the  old  house, 
and  how  we  may  win  her  honour  before  we  die !  and 
that  will  be  enough  to  keep  our  hands  full,  without 
fretting  about  this  woman  and  that. — What  an  ass  I 
have  been  for  years !  instead  of  learning  my  calling, 
dreaming  about  her,  and  don't  know  at  this  minute, 
whether  she  cares  more  for  me  than  she  does  for  her 
father's  'prentices ! " 


140     THE  TWO  WAYS  OF  BEING  CKOST  IN  LOVE. 

"  Oh,  Amyas  !  every  word  of  yours  puts  me  to  fresh 
shame !  Will  you  believe  that  I  know  as  little  of  her 
likings  as  you  do  f 

"Don't  tell  me  that,  and  play  the  devil's  game  by 
putting  fresh  hopes  into  me,  when  I  am  trying  to  kick 
them  out.  I  won't  believe  it.  If  she  is  not  a  fool, 
she  must  love  you ;  and  if  she  don't,  why,  behanged 
if  she  is  worth  loving !" 

"  My  dearest  Amyas  !  I  must  ask  you  too  to  make 
no  more  such  speeches  to  me.  All  those  thoughts  I 
have  forsworn." 

"Only  this  morning;  so  there  is  time  to  catch 
them  again  before  they  are  gone  too  far." 

"Only  this  morning,"  said  Frank,  with  a  quiet 
smile :  "but  centuries  have  passed  since  then." 

"  Centuries  1    I  don't  see  many  grey  hairs  yet." 

"I  should  not  have  been  surprised  if  you  had> 
though,"  answered  Frank,  in  so  sad  and  meaning  a 
tone  that  Amyas  could  only  answer, 

"Well,  you  are  an  angel !" 

"You,  at  least,  are  something  even  more  to  the 
purpose,  for  you  are  a  man  ! " 

And  both  spoke  truth,  and  so  the  battle  ended ; 
and  Frank  went  to  his  books,  while  Amyas,  who 
must  needs  be  doing,  if  he  was  not  to  dream,  started 
off  to  the  dock-yard  to  potter  about  a  new  ship  of 
Sir  Eichard's,  and  forget  his  woes,  in  the  capacity  of 
Sir  Oracle  among  the  sailors.  And  so  he  had  played 
his  move  for  Eose,  even  as  Eustace  had,  and  lost  her : 
but  not  as  Eustace  had. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CLOVELLY  COURT  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME. 

**  It  was  among  the  ways  of  good  Queen  Bess, 
"Who  ruled  as  well  as  ever  mortal  can,  sir, 
When  she  was  stogg'd,  and  the  country  in  a  mess, 
She  was  wont  to  send  for  a  Devon  man,  sir," 

JFest  Country  Song. 

The  next  morning  Amyas  Leigh  was  not  to  be  found. 
Not  that  he  had  gone  out  to  drown  himself  in  despair, 
or  even  to  bemoan  himself  "  down  by  the  Torridge 
side."  He  had  simply  ridden  off,  Frank  found,  to 
Sir  Richard  Grenvile  at  Stow :  his  mother  at  once 
divined  the  truth,  that  he  was  gone  to  try  for  a  post 
in  the  Irish  army,  and  sent  off  Frank  after  him  to 
bring  him  home  again,  and  make  him  at  least  recon- 
sider himself. 

So  Frank  took  horse  and  rode  thereon  ten  miles 
or  more  :  and  then,  as  there  were  no  inns  on  the  road 
in  those  days,  or  indeed  in  these,  and  he  had  some  ten 
miles  more  of  hilly  road  before  him,  he  turned  down 
the  hill  towards  Clovelly  Court,  to  obtain,  after  the 
hospitable  humane  fashion  of  those  days,  good  enter- 
tainment for  man  and  horse  from  Mr.  Cary  the  squire. 

And  when  he  walked  self  invited,  hke  the  loud- 
shouting  Menelaus,  in  the  long  dark  wainscotted  hall 
of  the  Court,  the  first  object  he  beheld  was  the  mighty 


k 


142  CLOVELLY  COURT 

form  of  Amyas,  who,  seated  at  the  long  table,  was 
alternately  burying  his  face  in  a  pasty,  and  the  pasty 
in  his  face,  his  sorrows  having,  as  it  seemed,  only 
sharpened  his  appetite,  while  young  Will  Gary, 
kneeling  on  the  opposite  bench,  -with  his  elbows  on 
the  table,  was  in  that  graceful  attitude  laying  down 
the  law  fiercely  to  him  in  a  low  voice. 

"Hillo!  lad,"  cried  Amyas;  "come  hither  and 
deliver  me  out  of  the  hands  of  this  fire-eater,  who  I 
verily  believe  will  kill  me,  if  I  do  not  let  him  kill 
some  one  else." 

"Ah!  Mr.  Frank,"  said  Will  Gary,  who,  like  all 
other  young  gentlemen  of  these  parts,  held  Frank  in 
high  honour,  and  considered  him  a  very  oracle  and 
cynosure  of  fashion  and  chivalry,  "  welcome  here : 
I  was  just  longing  for  you,  too ;  I  wanted  your  advice 
on  half-a-dozen  matters.  Sit  down,  and  eat.  There 
is  the  ale." 

"None  so  earlj^,  thank  you." 

"Ah,  no!"  said  Amyas,  burjang  his  head  in  the 
tankard,  and  then  mimicking  Frank,  "avoid  strong 
ale  o'  mornings.  It  heats  the  blood,  thickens  the 
animal  spirits,  and  obfuscates  the  cerebrum  with 
frenetical  and  lymphatic  idols,  which  cloud  the  quint- 
essential light  of  the  pure  reason.  Eh  1  young  Plato, 
young  Daniel,  come  hither  to  judgment !  And  yet, 
though  I  cannot  see  through  the  bottom  of  the  tankard 
already,  I  can  see  plain  enough  still  to  see  this,  that 
Will  shall  not  fight." 

"Shall  I  not,  eh"?  who  says  thati  Mr.  Frank,  I 
appeal  to  you,  now;  only  hear." 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  143 

"We  are  in  the  judgment-seat,"  said  Frank, 
settling  to  the  pasty.     "Proceed,  appellant." 

"Well,  I  was  telling  Amyas,  that  Tom  Coffin,  of 
Portledge  ;  I  will  stand  him  no  longer." 

"Let  him  be,  then,"  said  Amyas ;  "he  could  stand 
very  well  by  himself,  when  I  saw  him  last." 

"  Plague  on  you,  hold  your  tongue.  Has  he  any 
right  to  look  at  me  as  he  does,  whenever  I  pass  him?" 

"That  depends  on  how  he  looks;  a  cat  may  look 
at  a  king,  provided  she  don't  take  him  for  a  mouse." 

"Oh,  I  know  how  he  looks,  and  what  he  means 
too,  and  he  shall  stop,  or  I  will  stop  him.  And  the 
other  day,  when  I  spoke  of  Rose  Salterne." — "Ah!" 
groaned  Frank,  "At^'s  apple  again!" — "(never  mind 
what  I  said)  he  burst  out  laughing  in  my  face ;  and 
is  not  that  a  fair  quarrel  1  And  what  is  more,  I  know 
that  he  wrote  a  sonnet,  and  sent  it  her  to  Stow  by 
a  market  woman.  What  right  has  he  to  write  sonnets 
when  I  can't  1  It's  not  fair  play,  Mr.  Frank,  or  I  am 
a  Jew,  and  a  Spaniard,  and  a  papist;  it's  not !"  And 
Will  smote  the  table  till  the  plates  danced  again. 

"  My  dear  knight  of  the  burning  pestle,  I  have  a 
plan,  a  device,  a  disentanglement,  according  to  most 
approved  rules  of  chivalry.  Let  us  fix  a  day,  and 
summon  by  tuck  of  drum  all  young  gentlemen  under 
the  age  of  thirty,  dwelling  within  fifteen  miles  of  the 
habitation  of  that  peerless  Oriana." 

"And  all  'prentice-boys  too,"  cried  Amyas  out  of 
the  pasty. 

"And  all  'prentice-boys.  The  bold  lads  shall  fight 
first,  with  good  quarterstaves,  in  Bideford  Market, 


144  CLOVELLY  COURT 

till  all  heads  are  broken ;  and  the  head  which  is  not 
broken,  let  the  back  belong  to  it  pay  the  penalty  of 
the  noble  member's  cowardice.  After  which  grand 
tournament,  to  which  that  of  Tottenham  shall  be  but 
a  flea-bite  and  a  batrachomyomachy — " 

"Confound  you,  and  your  long  words,  sir,"  said 
poor  Will,  "I  know  you  are  flouting  me." 

"  Pazienza,  Signor  Cavaliere ;  that  which  is  to  come 
is  no  flouting,  but  bloody  and  warlike  earnest.  For 
afterwards  all  the  young  gentlemen  shall  adjourn  into 
a  convenient  field,  sand,  or  bog — which  last  will  be 
better,  as  no  man  will  be  able  to  run  away,  if  he  be 
up  to  his  knees  in  soft  peat :  and  there  stripping  to 
our  shirts,  with  rapiers  of  equal  length  and  keenest 
temper,  each  shall  slay  his  man,  catch  who  catch  can, 
and  the  conquerors  fight  again,  like  a  most  valiant 
main  of  gamecocks  as  we  are,  till  all  be  dead,  and  out 
of  their  woes;  after  which  the  survivor,  bewailing 
before  heaven  and  earth  the  cruelty  of  our  Fair  Oriana, 
and  the  slaughter  which  her  basiliscine  eyes  have 
caused,  shall  fall  gracefully  upon  his  sword,  and  so  end 
the  woes  of  this  our  lovelorn  generation.  Placetne 
Domini  ?  as  they  used  to  ask  in  the  Senate  at  Oxford." 

"Really,"  said  Gary,  "this  is  too  bad." 

"  So  is,  pardon  me,  your  fighting  Mr.  Coffin  with 
anything  longer  than  a  bodkin." 

"Bodkins  are  too  short  for  such  fierce  Bobadils," 
said  Amy  as;  "they  would  close  in  so  near,  that  we 
should  have  them  falling  to  fisticuff's  after  the  first 
bout." 

"Then   let   them    fight   with    squirts   across   the 


I 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  145 

market-place;  for  by  heaven  and  the  Queen's  laws, 
they  shall  fight  with  nothing  else." 

"My  dear  Mr.  Gary,"  went  on  Frank,  suddenly 
changing  his  bantering  tone  to  one  of  the  most  winning 
sweetness ;  "do  not  fancy  that  I  cannot  feel  for  you ; 
or  that  I,  as  well  as  you,  have  not  known  the  stings 
of  love,  and  the  bitterer  stings  of  jealousy.  But  oh, 
Mr.  Gary,  does  it  not  seem  to  you  an  awful  thing  to 
waste  selfishly  upon  your  own  quarrel  that  divine 
wrath  which,  as  Plato  says,  is  the  very  root  of  all 
virtues,  and  which  has  been  given  you,  like  all  else 
which  you  have,  that  you  may  spend  it  in  the  service 
of  her  whom  all  bad  souls  fear,  and  all  virtuous  souls 
adore, — our  peerless  Queen*?  Who  dares,  while  she 
rules  England,  call  his  sword  or  his  courage  his  own, 
or  any  one's  but  hers?  Are  there  no  Spaniards  to 
conquer,  no  wild  Irish  to  deliver  from  their  oppressors, 
that  two  gentlemen  of  Devon  can  find  no  better  place 
to  flesh  their  blades  than  in  each  other's  valiant  and 
honourable  hearts'?" 

"By  heaven  !"  cried  Amyas,  "  Frank  speaks  like  a 
book ;  and  for  me,  I  do  think  that  Ghristian  gentle- 
men may  leave  love  quarrels  to  bulls  and  rams." 

"  And  that  the  heir  of  Clovelly,"  said  Frank,  smiling, 
"may  find  more  noble  examples  to  copy  than  the 
stags  in  his  own  deer-park." 

"Well,"  said  Will  penitently,  "you  are  a  great 
scholar,  Mr.  Frank,  and  you  speak  like  one;  but 
gentlemen  must  fight  sometimes,  or  where  would  be 
their  honour. 

"  I  speak,"  said  Frank  a  little  proudly,  "  not  merely 

VOL.  L  L  w.  H. 


146  CLOVELLY  COURT 

as  a  scholar,  but  as  a  gentleman,  and  one  who  has 
fought  ere  now,  and  to  whom  it  has  happened,  Mr. 
Gary,  to  kill  his  man  (on  whose  soul  may  God  have 
mercy) ;  but  it  is  my  pride  to  remember  that  I  have 
never  yet  fought  in  my  own  quarrel,  and  my  trust  in 
God  that  I  never  shall.  For  as  there  is  nothing  more 
noble  and  blessed  than  to  fight  in  behalf  of  those  whom 
we  love,  so  to  fight  in  our  own  private  behalf  is  a 
thing  not  to  be  allowed  to  a  Christian  man,  unless 
refusal  imports  utter  loss  of  life  or  honour ;  and  even 
then,  it  may  be  (though  I  would  not  lay  a  burden  on 
any  man's  conscience),  it  is  better  not  to  resist  evil, 
but  to  overcome  it  with  good." 

"And  I  can  tell  you.  Will,"  said  Amyas,  "  I  am  not 
troubled  with  fear  of  ghosts ;  but  when  I  cut  off  the 
Frenchman's  head,  I  said  to  myself,  '  If  that  braggart 
had  been  slandering  me  instead  of  her  gracious  Majesty, 
I  should  expect  to  see  that  head  lying  on  my  pillow 
every  time  I  went  to  bed  at  night." 

"God  forbid!"  said  Will  with  a  shudder.  "But 
what  shall  I  do  ?  for  to  the  market  to-morrow  I  will 
go,  if  it  were  choke-full  of  Coffins,  and  a  ghost  in  each 
coffin  of  the  lot." 

"Leave  the  matter  to  me,"  said  Amyas.  "I  has^e 
my  device,  as  well  as  scholar  Frank  here ;  and  if  there 
be,  as  I  suppose  there  must  be,  a  quan-el  in  the  market 
to-morrow,  see  if  I  do  not " 

"Well,  you  are  two  good  fellows,"  said  Will. 
"Let  us  have  another  tankard  in." 

"  And  drink  the  health  of  Mr.  Coffin,  and  all  gal- 
lant lads  of  the  north,"  said  Frank ;  "  and.  now  to  my 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  147 

business.  I  have  to  take  this  runaway  youth  here 
home  to  his  mother ;  and  if  he  will  not  go  quietly,  I 
have  orders  to  carry  him  across  my  saddle." 

"I  hope  your  nag  has  a  strong  back,  then,"  said 
Amyas ;  "  but  I  must  go  on  and  see  Sir  Richard,  Frank. 
It  is  all  very  well  to  jest  as  we  have  been  doing,  but 
my  mind  is  made  up." 

"  Stop,"  said  Gary.  "  You  must  stay  here  to-night ; 
first,  for  good  fellowship's  sake ;  and  next,  because  I 
want  the  advice  of  our  Phoenix  here,  our  oracle,  our 
paragon.  There,  Mr.  Frank,  can  you  construe  that 
for  me  ?  Speak  low,  though,  gentlemen  both ;  there 
comes  my  father ;  you  had  better  give  me  the  letter 
again.     Well,  father,  whence  this  morning?" 

"  Eh,  company  here  1  Young  men,  you  are  always 
welcome,  and  such  as  you.  Would  there  were  more 
of  your  sort  in  these  dirty  times.  How  is  your  good 
mother,  Frank,  eh?  Where  have  I  been.  Will? 
Eound  the  house-farm,  to  look  at  the  beeves.  That 
sheeted  heifer  of  Prowse's  is  all  wrong ;  her  coat  stares 
like  a  hedgepig's.  Tell  Jewell  to  go  up  and  bring  her 
in  before  night.  And  then  up  the  forty  acres ;  sprang 
two  coveys,  and  picked  a  leash  out  of  them.  The 
Irish  hawk  flies  as  wild  as  any  haggard  still,  and  wiU 
never  make  a  bird.  I  had  to  hand  her  to  Tom,  and 
take  the  little  peregrine.  Give  me  a  Clovelly  hawk 
against  the  world,  after  all ;  and — heigh  ho,  I  am  ver}'* 
hungry!  Half -past  twelve,  and  dinner  not  served? 
What,  Master  Amyas,  spoiling  your  appetite  with 
strong  ale  ?  Better  have  tried  sack,  lad ;  have  some 
now  with  me." 


148  CLOVELLY  COURT 

And  the  worthy  old  gentleman,  having  finished  his 
oration,  settled  himself  on  a  great  bench  inside  the 
chimney,  and  put  his  hawk  on  a  perch  over  his  head, 
while  his  cockers  coiled  themselves  up  close  to  the 
warm  peat-ashes,  and  his  son  set  to  work  to  pull  off 
his  father's  boots,  amid  sundry  warnings  to  take  care 
of  his  corns. 

"  Come,  Master  Amy  as,  a  pint  of  white  wine  and 
sugar,  and  a  bit  of  a  shoeing-horn  to  it  ere  we  dine. 
Some  pickled  prawns,  now,  or  a  rasher  off  the  coals, 
to  whet  you '^" 

"Thank  you,"  quoth  Amyas;  "but  I  have  drunk 
a  mort  of  outlandish  liquors,  better  and  worse,  in  the 
last  three  years,  and  yet  never  found  aught  to  come 
up  to  good  ale,  which  needs  neither  shoeing-horn 
before  nor  after,  but  takes  care  of  itself,  and  of  all 
honest  stomachs  too,  I  think." 

"You  speak  like  a  book,  boy,"  said  old  Gary; 
"and  after  all,  what  a  plague  comes  of  these  new- 
fangled hot  wines,  and  aqua  vitaes,  which  have  come 
in  since  the  wars,  but  maddening  of  the  brains,  and 
fever  of  the  blood?" 

"  I  fear  we  have  not  seen  the  end  of  that  yet,"  said 
Frank.  "My  friends  write  me  from  the  Netherlands 
that  our  men  are  falling  into  a  swinish  trick  of  swill- 
ing like  the  Hollanders.  Heaven  grant  that  they 
may  not  bring  home  the  fashion  with  them." 

"  A  man  must  drink,  they  say,  or  die  of  the  ague, 
in  those  vile  swamps,"  said  Amy  as.  "When  they 
get  home  here,  they  will  not  need  it." 

"Heaven  grant  it,"  said  Frank;    "I  should  be 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  149 

sorry  to  see  Devonshire  a  drunken  county ;  and  there 
are  many  of  our  men  out  there  with  Mr.  Champer- 
noun." 

"Ah,"  said  Gary,  "there,  as  in  Ireland,  we  are 
proving  her  Majesty's  saying  true,  that  Devonshire  is 
her  right  hand,  and  the  young  children  thereof  like 
the  arrows  in  the  hand  of  the  giant." 

"They  may  well  be,"  said  his  son,  "when  some  of 
them  are  giants  themselves,  like  my  tall  schoolfellow 
opposite." 

"He  will  be  up  and  doing  again  presently,  I'll 
warrant  him,"  said  old  Gary. 

"  And  that  I  shall,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  I  have  been 
devising  brave  deeds;  and  see  in  the  distance  en- 
chanters to  be  bound,  dragons  choked,  empires  con- 
quered, though  not  in  Holland." 

"You  dof  asked  Will,  a  little  sharply;  for  he 
had  had  a  half  suspicion  that  more  was  meant  than 
met  the  ear. 

"Yes,"  said  Amyas,  turning  off  his  jest  again,  "I 
go  to  what  Ealeigh  calls  the  Land  of  the  Nymphs. 
Another  month,  I  hope,  will  see  me  abroad,  in  Ireland." 

"  Abroad  ?  Gall  it  rather  at  home,"  said  old  Gary ; 
"for  it  is  full  of  Devon  men  from  end  to  end,  and  you 
will  be  among  friends  all  day  long.  George  Bourchier 
from  Tawstock  has  the  army  now  in  Munster,  and 
Warham  St.  Leger  is  Marshal ;  George  Garew  is  with 
Lord  Grey  of  Wilton  (Poor  Peter  Garew  was  killed  at 
Glendalough) ;  and  after  the  defeat  last  year,  when 
that  villain  Desmond  cut  off  Herbert  and  Price,  the 
companies  were  made  up  with  six  hundred  Devon 


150  CLOVELLY  COURT 

men,  and  Arthur  Fortescue  at  their  head ;  so  that  the 
old  county  holds  her  head  as  proudly  in  the  Land  of 
Ire  as  she  does  in  the  Low  Countries  and  the  Spanish 
main." 

"And  where,"  asked  Amyas,  "is  Davils  of  Mars- 
land,  who  used  to  teach  me  how  to  catch  trout,  when 
I  was  staying  down  at  Stow  1  He  is  in  Ireland,  too, 
is  he  not?" 

"  Ah,  my  lad,"  said  Mr.  Gary,  "  that  is  a  sad  story. 
I  thought  all  England  had  known  it." 

"You  forget,  sir,  I  am  a  stranger.  Surely  he  is 
not  dead?" 

"Murdered  foully,  lad  !  Murdered  like  a  dog,  and 
by  the  man  whom  he  had  treated  as  his  son,  and  who 
pretended,  the  false  knave  !  to  call  him  father." 

"His  blood  is  avenged?"  said  Amyas  fiercely. 

"No,  by  heaven,  not  yet!  Stay,  don't  cry  out 
again.  I  am  getting  old — I  must  tell  my  story  my 
own  way.  It  was  last  July, — was  it  not.  Will  ? — Over 
comes  to  Ireland  Saunders,  one  of  those  Jesuit  foxes, 
as  the  Pope's  legate,  with  money  and  bulls,  and  a 
banner  hallowed  by  the  Pope,  and  the  devil  knows 
what  beside;  and  with  him  James  Fitzmaurice,  the 
same  fellow  who  had  sworn  on  his  knees  to  Perrott, 
in  the  church  at  Kilmallock,  to  be  a  true  liegeman  to 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  confirmed  it  by  all  his  saints, 
and  such  a  world  of  his  Irish  howling,  that  Perrott 
told  me  he  was  fain  to  stop  his  own  ears.  Well,  he 
had  been  practising  with  the  King  of  France,  but  got 
nothing  but  laughter  for  his  paiijs,  and  so  went  over 
to  the  Most  Catholic  King,  and  promises  him  to  join 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  151 

Ireland  to  Spain,  and  set  up  popery  again,  and  what 
not  And  he,  I  suppose,  thinking  it  better  that  Ire- 
land should  belong  to  him  than  to  the  Pope's  bastard, 
fits  him  out,  and  sends  him  off  on  such  another  errand 
as  Stukely's, — though  I  will  say,  for  the  honour  of 
Devon,  if  Stukely  lived  like  a  fool,  he  died  like  an 
honest  man." 

"  Sir  Thomas  Stukely  dead  too  f  said  Amyas. 

"  Wait  a  while,  lad,  and  you  shall  have  that  tragedy 
afterwards.  Well,  where  was  I^  Oh,  Fitzmaurice 
and  the  Jesuits  land  at  Smerwick,  with  three  ships, 
choose  a  place  for  a  fort,  bless  it  with  their  holy  water, 
and  their  moppings  and  their  scourings,  and  the  rest 
of  it,  to  purify  it  from  the  stain  of  heretic  dominion ; 
but  in  the  meanwhile  one  of  the  Courtenays, — a 
Courtenay  of  Haccombe,  was  it  1 — or  a  Courtenay  of 
Boconnock  ?  Silence,  Will,  I  shall  have  it  in  a  minute 
— yes,  a  Courtenay  of  Haccombe  it  was,  lying  at 
anchor  near  by,  in  a  ship  of  war  of  his,  cuts  out  the 
three  ships,  and  cuts  off  the  Dons  from  the  sea.  John 
and  James  Desmond,  with  some  small  rabble,  go  over 
to  the  Spaniards.  Earl  Desmond  will  not  join  them, 
but  will  not  fight  them,  and  stands  by  to  take  the 
winning  side;  and  then  in  comes  poor  Davils,  sent 
down  by  the  Lord  Deputy  to  charge  Desmond  and 
his  brothers,  in  the  Queen's  name,  to  assault  the 
Spaniards.  Folks  say  it  was  rash  of  his  Lordship: 
but  I  say,  what  could  be  better  done?  Every  one 
knows  that  there  never  was  a  stouter  or  shrewder 
soldier  than  Davils ;  and  the  young  Desmonds,  I  have 
heard  him  say  many  a  time,  used  to  look  on  him  as 


152  CLOVELLY  COURT 

their  father.  But  he  found  out  what  it  was  to  trust 
Englishmen  turned  Irish.  Well,  the  Desmonds  found 
out  on  a  sudden  that  the  Dons  were  such  desperate 
Paladins,  that  it  was  madness  to  meddle,  though  they 
were  five  to  one ;  and  poor  Davils,  seeing  that  there 
was  no  fight  in  them,  goes  back  for  help,  and  sleeps 
that  night  at  some  place  called  Tralee.  Arthur  Carter 
of  Bideford,  St  Leger's  lieutenant,  as  stout  an  old 
soldier  as  Davils  himself,  sleeps  in  the  same  bed  with 
him ;  the  lacquey-boy,  who  is  now  with  Sir  Bichard 
at  Stow,  on  the  floor  at  their  feet.  But  in  the  dead 
of  night,  who  should  come  in  but  James  Desmond, 
sword  in  hand,  with  a  dozen  of  his  ruffians  at  his  heels, 
each  with  his  glib  over  his  ugly  face,  and  his  skene  in 
his  hand.  Davils  springs  up  in  bed,  and  asks  but  this, 
'What  is  the  matter,  my  son?'  whereon  the  treacher- 
ous villain,  without  giving  him  time  to  say  a  prayer, 
strikes  at  him,  naked  as  he  was,  crying,  '  Thou  shalt 
be  my  father  no  longer,  nor  I  thy  son  !  Thou  shalt 
die  ! '  and  at  that  all  the  rest  fall  on  him.  The  poor 
little  lad  (so  he  says)  leaps  up  to  cover  his  master 
with  his  naked  body,  gets  three  or  four  stabs  of  skenes, 
and  so  falls  for  dead ;  with  his  master  and  Captain 
Carter,  who  were  dead  indeed — God  reward  them ! 
After  that  the  ruffians  ransacked  the  house,  till  they 
had  murdered  every  Englishman  in  it,  the  lacquey-boy 
only  excepted,  who  crawled  out,  wounded  as  he  was, 
through  a  window;  while  Desmond,  if  you  will  be- 
lieve it,  went  back,  up  to  his  elbows  m  blood,  and 
vaunted  his  deeds  to  the  Spaniards,  and  asked  them — 
*  There !     Will  you  take  that  as  a  pledge  that  I  am 


IX  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  153 

faithful  to  youf  And  that,  my  lad,  was  the  end  of 
Henry  Davils,  and  will  be  of  all  who  trust  to  the  faith 
of  wild  savages." 

"  I  would  go  a  hundred  miles  to  see  that  Desmond 
hanged !"  said  Amyas,  while  great  tears  ran  down  his 
face.  "  Poor  Mr.  Davils !  And  now,  what  is  the 
stoiy  of  Sir  Thomas  V 

*'  Your  brother  must  tell  you  that,  lad ;  I  am  some- 
what out  of  breath." 

"And  I  have  a  right  to  tell  it,"  said  Frank,  with  a 
smile.  "Do  you  know  that  I  was  very  near  being 
Earl  of  the  bog  of  Allen,  and  one  of  the  peers  of  the 
realm  to  King  Buoncompagna,  son  and  heir  to  his 
Holiness  Pope  Gregory  the  Thirteenth  f 

"No,  surely!" 

"  As  I  am  a  gentleman.  When  I  was  at  Eome  I 
saw  poor  Stukely  often ;  and  this  and  more  he  offered 
me  on  the  part  (as  he  said)  of  the  Pope,  if  I  would 
just  oblige  him  in  the  two  little  matters  of  being  recon- 
ciled to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  joining  the  invasion 
of  Ireland." 

"Poor  deluded  heretic,"  said  Will  Cary,  "to  have 
lost  an  earldom  for  your  family  by  such  silly  scruples 
of  loyalty!" 

"It  is  not  a  matter  for  jesting,  after  all,"  said 
Frank ;  "  but  I  saw  Sir  Thomas  often,  and  I  cannot 
believe  he  was  in  his  senses,  so  frantic  was  his  vanity 
and  his  ambition ;  and  all  the  while,  in  private  matters 
as  honourable  a  gentleman  as  ever.  However,  he 
sailed  at  last  for  Ireland,  with  his  eight  hundred 
Spaniards  and  Italians;  and  what  is  more,  I  know 


154  CLOVELLY  COURT 

that  the  King  of  Spain  paid  their  charges.  Marquis 
Vinola — James  Buoncompagna,  that  is — stayed  quietly 
at  Eome,  preferring  that  Stukely  should  conquer  his 
paternal  heritage  of  Ireland  for  him  while  he  took 
care  of  the  bona  rohas  at  home.  I  went  down  to 
Civita  Vecchia  to  see  him  off;  and  though  his  younger 
by  many  years,  I  could  not  but  take  the  liberty  of 
entreating  him,  as  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  Devon, 
to  consider  his  faith  to  his  Queen  and  the  honour  of 
his  country.  There  were  high  words  between  us ; 
God  forgive  me  if  I  spoke  too  fiercely,  for  I  never  saw 
him  again." 

"Too  fiercely  to  an  open  traitor,  Frank]  \Miy 
not  have  run  him  through  f 

"  Nay,  I  had  no  clean  life  for  Sundays,  Amyas ;  so 
I  could  not  throw  away  my  week-day  one ;  and  as  for 
the  weal  of  England,  I  knew  that  it  was  little  he 
would  damage  it,  and  told  him  so.  And  at  that  he 
waxed  utterly  mad,  for  it  touched  his  pride,  and  swore 
that  if  the  wind  had  not  been  fair  for  sailing,  he  would 
have  fought  me  there  and  then ;  to  which  I  could  only 
answer,  that  I  was  ready  to  meet  him  when  he  would ; 
and  he  parted  from  me,  saying,  'It  is  a  pity,  sir,  I 
cannot  fight  you  now ;  when  next  we  meet,  it  will  be 
beneath  my  dignity  to  measure  swords  with  you.' 

"  I  suppose  he  expected  to  come  back  a  prince  at 
least — Heaven  knows;  I  owe  him  no  ill-will,  nor  I 
hope  does  any  man.  He  has  paid  all  debts  now  in 
full,  and  got  his  receipt  for  them." 

"  How  did  he  die,  then,  after  all  f 

"On  his  voyage  he  touched  in  Portugal.     King 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  165 

Sebastian  was  just  sailing  for  Africa  with  his  now  ally, 
Mohammed  the  Prince  of  Fez,  to  help  King  Abdullah, 
and  con(|uer  what  he  could.  He  persuaded  Stukely 
to  go  with  him.  There  were  those  who  thought  that 
he  as  well  as  the  Spaniards,  had  no  stomach  for  seeing 
the  Pope's  son  King  of  Ireland.  Others  used  to  say 
that  he  thought  an  island  too  small  for  his  ambition, 
and  must  needs  conquer  a  continent — I  know  not  why 
it  was,  but  he  went.  They  had  heavy  weather  in  the 
passage ;  and  when  they  landed,  many  of  their  soldiers 
were  sea-sick.  Stukely,  reasonably  enough,  counselled 
that  they  should  wait  two  or  three  days  and  recruit ; 
but  Don  Sebastian  was  so  mad  for  the  assault,  that  he 
must  needs  have  his  ve7i%  vid%  vici;  and  so  ended 
with  a  veiii,  vidi,  peril ;  for  he,  Abdallah,  and  his  son 
Mohammed,  all  perished  in  the  first  battle  at  Alcasar  ; 
and  Stukely,  surrounded  and  overpowered,  fought  till 
he  could  fight  no  more,  and  then  died  like  a  hero  with 
all  his  wounds  in  front ;  and  may  God  have  mercy  on 
his  soul ! " 

"Ah!"  said  Amyas,  "we  heard  of  that  battle  kA\ 
Lima,  but  nothing  about  poor  Stukely." 

"That  last  was  a  Popish  prayer.  Master  Frank," 
said  old  Mr.  Cary. 

"Most  worshipful  sir,  you  surely  would  not  wish 
God  not  to  have  mercy  on  his  soul  ?" 

"No — eh^  Of  course  not:  but  that's  all  settled 
by  now,  for  he  is  dead,  poor  fellow." 

"Certainly,  my  dear  sir.  And  you  cannot  help 
being  a  little  fond  of  him  stilL" 

"  Fib  %  why,  I  should  be  a  brute  if  I  were  not.     He 


156  CLOVELLY  COUET 

and  I  were  schoolfellows,  though  he  was  somewhat 
the  younger;  and  many  a  good  thrashing  have  I 
given  him,  and  one  cannot  help  having  a  tenderness 
for  a  man  after  that.  Beside,  we  used  to  hunt  together 
in  Exmoor,  and  have  royal  nights  afterward  into  Ilfra- 
combe,  when  we  were  a  couple  of  mad  young  blades. 
Fond  of  him  1  Why,  I  would  have  sooner  given  my 
forefinger  than  that  he  should  have  gone  to  the  dogs 
thus." 

"Then,  my  dear  sir,  if  you  feel  for  him  still,  in 
spite  of  all  his  faults,  how  do  you  know  that  God  may 
not  feel  for  him  still,  in  spite  of  all  his  faults  ?  For 
my  part,"  quoth  Frank  in  his  fanciful  way,  "without 
believing  in  that  Popish  Purgatory,  I  cannot  help 
holding  with  Plato,  that  such  heroical  souls,  who  have 
wanted  but  little  of  true  greatness,  are  hereafter  by 
some  strait  discipline  brought  to  a  better  mind; 
perhaps,  as  many  ancients  have  held  with  the  Indian 
Gymnosophists,  by  transmigration  into  the  bodies  of 
those  animals  whom  they  have  resembled  in  their 
passions;  and  indeed,  if  Sir  Thomas  Stukely's  soul 
should  now  animate  the  body  of  a  lion,  all  I  can  say 
is  that  he  would  be  a  very  valiant  and  royal  lion ;  and 
also  doubtless  become  in  due  time  heartily  ashamed 
and  penitent  for  having  been  nothing  better  than  a 
lion." 

"What  now,  Master  Franks  I  don't  trouble  my 
head  with  such  matters — I  say  Stukely  was  a  right 
good-hearted  fellow  at  bottom ;  and  if  you  plague  my 
head  with  any  of  your  dialectics,  and  propositions,  and 
college  quips  and  quiddities,  you  shan't  have  any  more 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  157 

sack,  sir!  But  here  come  the  knaves,  and  I  hear 
the  cook  knock  to  dinner." 

After  a  madrigal  or  two,  and  an  Italian  song  of 
Master  Frank's,  all  which  went  sweetly  enough,  the 
ladies  rose,  and  went.  Whereon  Will  Gary,  drawing 
his  chair  close  to  Frank's,  put  quietly  into  his  hand 
a  dirty  letter. 

"This  was  the  letter  left  for  me,"  whispered  he, 
"by  a  country  fellow  this  morning.  Look  at  it,  and 
tell  me  what  I  am  to  do." 

Whereon  Frank  opened,  and  read — 

**  Mister  Gary,  be  you  wary, 
By  deer  park  end  to-night. 
Yf  Irish  ffoxe  com  out  of  rocks 
Grip  and  hold  hym  tight." 

"I  would  have  showed  it  my  father,"  said  Will, 
"but " 

"  I  verily  believe  it  to  be  a  blind.  See  now,  this 
is  the  handwriting  of  a  man  who  has  been  trying  to 
write  vilely,  and  yet  cannot.  Look  at  that  B,  and 
that  G ;  their  formm  formativce  never  were  begotten  in 
a  hedge-school.  And  what  is  more,  this  is  no  Devon 
man's  handiwork.  We  say  'to'  and  not  'by,'  Will, 
ehl  in  the  West  country?" 

"Of  course." 

"And  'man,'  instead  of  'him'f 

"True,  0  Daniel !  But  am  I  to  do  nothing  there- 
fore r' 

"  On  that  matter  I  am  no  judge.  Let  us  ask  much- 
enduring  Ulysses  here ;  perhaps  he  has  not  sailed  round 
the  world  without  bringing  home  a  device  or  two." 


158  CLOVELLY  COUET 

Whereon  Amyas  was  called  to  counsel,  as  soon  as 
Mr.  Gary  could  be  stopped  in  a  long  cross-examina- 
tion of  him  as  to  Mr.  Doughty's  famous  trial  and 
execution. 

Amyas  pondered  awhile,  thrusting  his  hands  into 
his  long  curls ;  and  then — 

"Will,  my  lad,  have  you  been  watching  at  the 
Deer  Park  End  of  late?" 

"Never." 

"Where,  theni" 

"At  the  town-beach." 

"Where  else r' 

"At  the  town-head." 

"Where  else f 

"  Why,  the  fellow  is  turned  lawyer !  Above  Fresh- 
water." 

"Where  is  Freshwater f 

"Why,  where  the  waterfall  comes  over  the  cliff, 
half-a-mile  from  the  town.  There  is  a  path  there  up 
into  the  forest." 

"  I  know.  I'll  watch  there  to-night.  Do  you  keep 
all  your  old  haunts  safe,  of  course,  and  send  a  couple 
of  stout  knaves  to  the  mill,  to  watch  the  beach  at  the 
Deer  Park  End,  on  the  chance ;  for  your  poet  may  be 
a  true  man,  after  alL  But  my  heart's  faith  is,  that 
this  comes  just  to  draw  you  off  from  some  old  beat  of 
yours,  upon  a  wild  goose  chase.  If  they  shoot  the 
miller  by  mistake,  I  suppose  it  don't  much  matter  *? " 

"Marry,  no, 

"  '  When  a  miller's  knock'd  on  the  head. 
The  less  of  flour  makes  the  more  of  bread.'  " 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  159 

"Or,  again,"  chimed  in  old  Mr.  Gary,  "as  they 
say  in  the  Nortli — 

"  *  Find  a  miller  that  will  not  steal, 
Or  a  Webster  that  is  leal, 
Or  a  priest  that  is  not  greedy, 
And  lay  them  three  a  dead  corpse  by  ; 
And  by  the  virtue  of  them  three, 
The  said  dead  corpse  shall  quicken'd  be. '  " 

"  But  why  are  you  so  ready  to  watch  Freshwater 
to-night,  Master  Amyasi" 

"Because,  sir,  those  who  come,  if  they  come,  will 
never  land  at  Mouthmill ;  if  they  are  strangers,  they 
dare  not;  and  if  they  are  bay's-men,  they  are  too 
wise,  as  long  as  the  westerly  swell  sets  in.  As  for 
landing  at  the  town,  that  would  be  too  great  a  risk ; 
but  Freshwater  is  as  lonely  as  the  Bermudas;  and 
they  can  beach  a  boat  up  under  the  cliff  at  all  tides, 
and  in  all  weathers,  except  north  and  nor'-west.  I 
have  done  it  many  a  time,  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"  And  give  us  the  fruit  of  your  experience  now  in 
your  old  age,  eh  1  Well,  you  have  a  grey  head  on 
green  shoulders,  my  lad ;  and  I  verily  believe  you  are 
right.     Who  will  you  take  with  you  to  watch  V 

"Sir,"  said  Frank,  "I  will  go  with  my  brother; 
and  that  will  be  enough." 

"Enough?  He  is  big  enough,  and  you  brave 
enough,  for  ten ;  but  still,  the  more  the  merrier." 

"  But  the  fewer,  the  better  fare.  If  I  might  ask  a 
first  and  last  favour,  worshipful  sir,"  said  Frank,  very 
earnestly,  "you  would  grant  me  two  things  :  that  you 
would  let  none   go  to  Freshwater  but  me  and  my 


160  CLOVELLY  COURT 

brother;  and  that  whatsoever  we  shall  bring  you 
back  shall  be  kept  as  secret  as  the  commonweal  and 
your  loyalty  shall  permit.  I  trust  that  we  are  not  so 
unknown  to  you,  or  to  others,  that  you  can  doubt  for 
a  moment  but  that  whatsoever  we  may  do  will  satisfy 
at  once  your  honour  and  our  own." 

"My  dear  young  gentleman,  there  is  no  need  of 
so  many  courtier's  words.  I  am  your  father's  friend, 
and  yours.  And  God  forbid  that  a  Gary — for  I  guess 
your  drift — should  ever  wish  to  make  a  head  or  a 
heart  ache ;  that  is,  more  than " 

"  Those  of  whom  it  is  written,  '  Though  thou  bray 
a  fool  in  a  mortar,  yet  will  not  his  folly  depart  from 
him,'"  interposed  Frank,  in  so  sad  a  tone  that  no  one 
at  the  table  replied ;  and  few  more  words  were 
exchanged,  till  the  two  brothers  were  safe  outside 
the  house ;  and  then — 

"Amyas,"  said  Frank,  "that  was  a  Devon  man's 
handiwork,  nevertheless ;  it  was  Eustace's  hand- 
writing." 

"Impossible !" 

"  No,  lad.  I  have  been  secretary  to  a  prince,  and 
learnt  to  interpret  cipher,  and  to  watch  every  pen- 
stroke;  and,  young  as  I  am,  I  think  that  I  am  not 
easily  deceived.  Would  God  I  were  !  Come  on,  lad ; 
and  strike  no  man  hastily,  lest  thou  cut  off  thine  own 
flesh." 

So  forth  the  two  went,  along  the  park  to  the  east- 
ward, and  past  the  head  of  the  little  wood-embosomed 
fishing-town,  a  steep  stair  of  houses  clinging  to  the 
cliff  far  below  them,  the  bright  slate  roofs  and  white 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  161 

walls,  glittering  in  the  moonlight ;  and  on  some  half- 
mile  farther,  along  the  steep  hill-side,  fenced  with  oak 
wood  down  to  the  water's  edge,  by  a  narrow  forest 
path,  to  a  point  where  two  glens  meet  and  pour  their 
streamlets  over  a  cascade  some  hundred  feet  in  height 
into  the  sea  below.  By  the  side  of  this  waterfall  a 
narrow  path  climbs  upward  from  the  beach ;  and  here 
it  was  that  the  two  brothers  expected  to  meet  the 
messenger. 

Frank  insisted  on  taking  his  station  below  Amyas. 
He  said  that  he  was  certain  that  Eustace  himself 
would  make  his  appearance,  and  that  he  was  more  fit 
than  Amyas  to  bring  him  to  reason  by  parley ;  that  if 
Amyas  would  keep  watch  some  twenty  yards  above, 
the  escape  of  the  messenger  would  be  impossible. 
Moreover,  he  was  the  elder  brother,  and  the  post  of 
honour  was  his  right.  So  Amyas  obeyed  him,  after 
making  him  promise  that  if  more  than  one  man  came 
up  the  path,  he  would  let  them  pass  him  before  he 
challenged,  so  that  both  might  bring  them  to  bay  at 
the  same  time. 

So  Amyas  took  his  station  under  a  high  marl  bank, 
and,  bedded  in  luxuriant  crown-ferns,  kept  his  eye 
steadily  on  Frank,  who  sat  down  on  a  little  knoll  of 
rock  (where  is  now  a  garden  on  the  clifF-edge)  which 
parts  the  path  and  the  dark  chasm  down  which  the 
stream  rushes  to  its  final  leap  over  the  cliff. 

There  Amyas  sat  a  full  half-hour,  and  glanced  at 
whiles  from  Frank  to  look  upon  the  scene  around. 
Outside  the  south-west  wind  blew  fresh  and  strong, 
and  the  moonlight   danced  upon   a  thousand   crests 

VOL.  L  M  w.  H, 


162  CLOVELLY  COURT 

of  foam;  but  within  the  black  jagged  point  which 
sheltered  the  town,  the  sea  did  but  heave,  in  long 
oily  swells  of  rolling  silver,  onward  into  the  black 
shadow  of  the  hills,  within  which  the  town  and  pier 
lay  invisible,  save  where  a  twinkling  light  gave  token 
of  some  lonely  fisher's  wife,  watching  the  weary  night 
through  for  the  boat  which  would  return  with  dawn. 
Here  and  there  upon  the  sea,  a  black  speck  marked  a 
herring-boat,  drifting  with  its  line  of  nets ;  and  right 
oft*  the  mouth  of  the  glen,  Amyas  saw,  with  a  beating 
heart,  a  large  two-masted  vessel  lying-to — that  must 
be  the  "Portugal !"  Eagerly  he  looked  up  the  glen, 
and  listened ;  but  he  heard  nothing  but  the  sweeping 
of  the  wind  across  the  downs  five  hundred  feet  above, 
and  the  sough  of  the  waterfall  upon  the  rocks  below ; 
he  saw  nothing  but  the  vast  black  sheets  of  oak-wood 
sloping  up  to  the  narrow  blue  sky  above,  and  the 
broad  bright  hunter's  moon,  and  the  woodcocks, 
which,  chuckling  to  each  other,  hawked  to  and  fro, 
like  swallows,  between  the  tree-tops  and  the  sky. 

At  last  he  heard  a  rustle  of  the  fallen  leaves ;  he 
shrank  closer  and  closer  into  the  darkness  of  the  bank. 
Then  swift  light  steps — not  down  the  path,  from  above, 
but  upward,  from  below;  his  heart  beat  quick  and 
loud.  And  in  another  half-minute  a  man  came  in 
sight,  within  three  yards  of  Frank's  hiding-place. 

Frank  sprang  out  instantly.  Amyas  saw  his  bright 
blade  glance  in  the  clear  October  moonlight. 

"Stand,  in  the  Queen's  name  !" 

The  man  drew  a  pistol  from  under  his  cloak,  and 
fired  full  in  his  face.     Had  it  happened  in  these  days 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  163 

of  detonators,  Frank's  chance  had  been  small ;  but  to 
get  a  ponderous  wheel-lock  under  weigh  was  a  longer 
business,  and  before  the  fizzing  of  the  flint  had  ceased, 
Frank  had  struck  up  the  pistol  with  his  rapier,  and  it 
exploded  harmlessly  over  his  head.  The  man  instantly- 
dashed  the  weapon  in  his  face,  and  closed. 

The  blow,  luckily,  did  not  take  effect  on  that  deli- 
cate forehead,  but  struck  him  in  the  shoulder :  never- 
theless, Frank,  who  with  all  his  grace  and  agility  was 
as  fragile  as  a  lily,  and  a  very  bubble  of  the  earth, 
staggered,  and  lost  his  guard,  and  before  he  could 
recover  himself,  Amyas  saw  a  dagger  gleam,  and  one, 
two,  three  blows  fiercely  repeated. 

Mad  with  fury,  he  was  with  them  in  an  instant. 
They  were  scuffling  together  so  closely  in  the  shade 
that  he  was  afraid  to  use  his  sword  point ;  but  with 
the  hilt  he  dealt  a  single  blow  full  on  the  ruffian's 
cheek.  It  was  enough ;  with  a  hideous  shriek,  the 
fellow  rolled  over  at  his  feet,  and  Amyas  set  his  foot 
on  him,  in  act  to  run  him  through. 

"Stop!  stay!"  almost  screamed  Frank;  "it  is 
Eustace  I  •  our  cousin  Eustace  ! "  and  he  leant  against  a 
tree. 

Amyas  sprang  towards  him :  but  Frank  waved  him 
off: 

"  It  is  nothing — a  scratch.  He  has  papers :  I  am 
sure  of  it.  Take  them ;  and  for  God's  sake  let  him 
go!" 

"Villain!  give  me  your  papers!"  cried  Amyas, 
setting  his  foot  once  more  on  the  writhing  Eustace, 
whose  jaw  was  broken  across. 


164  CLOVELLY  COUET 

"You  struck  me  foully  from  behind,"  moaned  he, 
his  vanity  and  envy  even  then  coming  out,  in  that 
faint  and  foolish  attempt  to  prove  Amyas  not  so  very 
much  better  a  man. 

"  Hound,  do  you  think  that  I  dare  not  strike  you 
in  front"?  Give  me  your  papers,  letters,  whatever 
Popish  devilry  you  carry ;  or  as  I  live,  I  will  cut  off 
your  head,  and  take  them  myself,  even  if  it  cost  me 
the  shame  of  stripping  your  corpse.  Give  them  up ! 
Traitor,  murderer!  give  them,  I  say!"  And  setting 
his  foot  on  him  afresh,  he  raised  his  sword. 

Eustace  was  usually  no  craven :  but  he  was  cowed. 
Between  agony  and  shame,  he  had  no  heart  to  resist. 
Martyrdom,  which  looked  so  splendid  when  consum- 
mated selon  les  rhgles  on  Tower  Hill  or  Tyburn,  before 
pitying,  or  (still  better)  scoffing  multitudes,  looked  a 
confused,  dirty,  ugly  business  there  in  the  dark  forest ; 
and  as  he  lay,  a  stream  of  moonlight  bathed  his  mighty 
cousin's  broad  clear  forehead,  and  his  long  golden  locks, 
and  his  white  terrible  blade,  till  he  seemed,  to  Eustace's 
superstitious  eye,  like  one  of  those  fair  young  St. 
Michaels  trampling  on  the  fiend,  which  he  had  seen 
abroad  in  old  German  pictures.  He  shuddered ;  pulled 
a  packet  from  his  bosom,  and  threw  it  from  Lim, 
murmuring,  "I  have  not  given  it." 

"  Swear  to  me  that  these  are  all  the  papers  which 
you  have,  in  cipher  or  out  of  cipher.  Swear  on  your 
soul,  or  you  die  !" 

Eustace  swore. 

"  Tell  me,  who  are  your  accomplices  ?" 

"  Never ! "  said  Eustace.     "  Cruel !  have  vou  not 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  165 

degraded  me  enough  already  f  and  the  wretched 
young  man  burst  into  tears,  and  hid  his  bleeding  face 
in  his  hands. 

One  hint  of  honour  made  Amyas  as  gentle  as  a 
lamb.  He  lifted  Eustace  up,  and  bade  him  run  for 
his  life. 

"I  am  to  owe  my  life,  then,  to  youf 

"Not  in  the  least;  only  to  your  being  a  Leigh. 
Go,  or  it  will  be  worse  for  you  ! "  And  Eustace  went ; 
while  Amyas,  catching  up  the  precious  packet,  hurried 
to  Frank.  He  had  fainted  already,  and  his  brother 
had  to  carry  him  as  far  as  the  park,  before  he  could 
find  any  of  the  other  watchers.  The  blind,  as  far  as 
they  were  concerned,  was  complete.  They  had  heard 
and  seen  nothing.  Whosoever  had  brought  the  packet 
had  landed  they  knew  not  where ;  and  so  all  returned 
to  the  Court,  carrying  Frank,  who  recovered  gradually, 
having  rather  bruises  than  wounds ;  for  his  foe  had 
struck  wildly,  and  with  a  trembling  hand. 

Half-an-hour  after,  Amyas,  Mr.  Gary,  and  his  son 
Will  were  in  deep  consultation  over  the  following 
epistle,  the  only  paper  in  the  packet  which  was  not  in 
cipher : — 

"  ►^    Dear  Brother  K     S.  in  Ch^^-  et  Ecclesm. 

"This  is  to  inform  you,  and  the  friends  of  the 
cause,  that  S.  Josephus  has  landed  in  Smerwick,  with 
eight  hundred  valiant  Grusaders,  burning  with  holy 
zeal  to  imitate  last  year's  martyrs  of  Carrigfolium, 
and  to  expiate  their  offences  (which  I  fear  may  have 
been  many)  by  the  propagation  of  our  most  holy  faith. 


166  CLOVELLY  COURT 

I  have  purified  the  fort  (which  they  are  strenuously 
rebuilding)  with  prayer  and  holy  water,  from  the  stain 
of  heretical  footsteps,  and  consecrated  it  afresh  to  the 
service  of  Heaven,  as  the  first-fruits  of  the  isle  of 
saints ;  and  having  displayed  the  consecrated  banner 
to  the  adoration  of  the  faithful,  have  returned  to  Earl 
Desmond,  that  I  may  establish  his  faith,  weak  as  yet, 
by  reason  of  the  allurements  of  this  world :  though 
since,  by  the  valour  of  his  brother  James,  he  that 
hindered  was  taken  out  of  the  way  (I  mean  Davils  the 
heretic,  sacrifice  well-pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  Heaven  !) 
the  young  man  has  lent  a  more  obedient  ear  to  my 
counsels.  If  you  can  do  anything,  do  it  quickly,  for 
a  great  door  and  effectual  is  opened,  and  there  are 
many  adversaries.  But  be  swift,  for  so  do  the  poor 
lambs  of  the  Church  tremble  at  the  fury  of  the  heretics, 
that  a  hundred  will  flee  before  one  Englishmen.  And 
indeed,  were  it  not  for  that  divine  charity  toward  the 
Church  (which  covers  the  multitude  of  sins)  with 
which  they  are  resplendent,  neither  they  nor  their 
country  would  be,  by  the  carnal  judgment,  counted 
worthy  of  so  great  labour  in  their  behalf.  For  they 
themselves  are  given  much  to  lying,  theft,  and  drunken- 
ness, vain  babbling,  and  profane  dancing  and  singing ; 
and  are  still,  as  S.  Gildas  reports  of  them,  '  more  care- 
ful to  shroud  their  villanous  faces  in  bushy  hair,  than 
decently  to  cover  their  bodies;'  while  their  land  (by 
reason  of  the  tyranny  of  their  chieftains,  and  the  con- 
tinual wars  and  plunderings  among  their  tribes,  which 
leave  them  weak  and  divided,  an  easy  prey  to  the 
myrmidons    of    the    excommunicate    and    usurping 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  167 

Englishwoman)  lies  utterly  waste  with  fire,  and  de- 
faced with  corpses  of  the  starved  and  slain.  But  what 
are  these  things,  while  the  holy  virtue  of  Catholic 
obedience  still  flourishes  in  their  hearts  ?  The  Church 
cares  not  for  the  conservation  of  body  and  goods,  l)ut 
of  immortal  souls. 

"  If  any  devout  lady  shall  so  will,  you  may  obtain 
from  her  liberality  a  shirt  for  this  worthless  tabernacle, 
and  also  a  pair  of  hose ;  for  I  am  unsavoury  to  myself 
and  to  others,  and  of  such  luxuries  none  here  has 
superfluity;  for  all  live  in  holy  poverty,  except  the 
fleas,  who  have  that  consolation  in  this  world  for 
which  this  unhappy  nation,  and  those  who  labour 
among  them,  must  wait  till  the  world  to  come.^ 
"  Your  loving  brother, 

"N.  S." 

"  Sir  Eichard  must  know  of  this  before  daybreak," 
cried  old  Cary.  "Eight  hundred  men  landed!  We 
must  call  out  the  Posse  Comitatus,  and  sail  with  them 
bodily.  I  will  go  myself,  old  as  I  am.  Spaniards  in 
Ireland'?  not  a  dog  of  them  must  go  home  again." 

"Not  a  dog  of  them,"  answered  Will;  "but  where 
is  Mr.  Winter  and  his  squadron*?" 

"Safe  in  Milford  Haven;  a  messenger  must  be 
sent  to  him  too." 

"I'll  go,"  said  Amy  as:  "but  Mr.  Cary  is  right. 
Sir  Richard  must  know  all  first." 

"And  we  must  have  those  Jesuits." 

"What^  Mr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Morgans^  God  help 
^  See  note  at  end  of  chapter. 


168  CLOVELLY  COUET 

US — they  are  at  my  uncle's  !  Consider  the  honour  of 
our  family!" 

"Judge  for  yourself,  my  dear  boy,"  said  old  Mr. 
Gary,  gently:  "would  it  not  be  rank  treason  to  let 
these  foxes  escape,  while  we  have  this  damning  proof 
against  themf 

"I  will  go  myself  then." 

"  Why  not  ?  You  may  keep  all  straight,  and  Will 
shall  go  with  you.  Call  a  groom.  Will,  and  get  your 
horse  saddled,  and  my  Yorkshire  grey ;  he  will  make 
better  play  with  this  big  fellow  on  his  back,  than  the 
little  pony  astride  of  which  Mr.  Leigh  came  walking 
in  (as  I  hear)  this  morning.  As  for  Frank,  the  ladies 
will  see  to  him  well  enough,  and  glad  enough,  too,  to 
have  so  fine  a  bird  in  their  cage  for  a  week  or  two." 

"And  my  mother?" 

"  We'll  send  to  her  to-morrow  by  daybreak.  Come, 
a  stirrup  cup  to  start  with,  hot  and  hot.  Now,  boots, 
cloaks,  swords,  a  deep  pull  and  a  warm  one,  and  away ! " 

"And  the  jolly  old  man  bustled  them  out  of  the 
house  and  into  their  saddles,  under  the  broad  bright 
winter's  moon. 

*'  You  must  make  your  pace,  lads,  or  the  moon  will 
be  down  before  you  are  over  the  moors."  And  so 
away  they  went. 

Neither  of  them  spoke  for  many  a  mile.  Amyas, 
because  his  mind  was  fixed  firmly  on  the  one  object  of 
saving  the  honour  of  his  house ;  and  Will,  because  he 
was  hesitating  between  Ireland  and  the  wars,  and  Eose 
Salterne  and  love-making.     At  last  he  spoke  suddenly. 

"I'll  go,  Amyas." 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  169 

"  To  Ireland  with  you,  old  man.  I  have  dragged 
my  anchor  at  last." 

"What  anchor,  my  lad  of  parables?" 

"See,  here  am  I,  a  tall  and  gallant  ship." 

"Modest  even  if  not  true." 

"Inclination,  like  an  anchor,  holds  me  tight." 

"To  the  mud." 

"  Nay,  to  a  bed  of  roses — not  without  their  thorns." 

"Hillo*?  I  have  seen  oysters  grow  on  fruit-trees 
before  now,  but  never  an  anchor  in  a  rose-garden." 

"Silence  or  my  allegory  will  go  to  noggin-staves." 

"Against  the  rocks  of  my  flinty  discernment." 

"  Pooh — well.  Up  comes  duty  like  a  jolly  breeze, 
blowing  dead  from  the  north-east  and  as  bitter  and 
cross  as  a  north-easter  too,  and  tugs  me  away  toward 
Ireland.  I  hold  on  by  the  rose-bed — any  ground  in  a 
storm — till  every  strand  is  parted,  and  off  I  go,  west- 
ward ho !  to  get  my  throat  cut  in  a  bog-hole  with 
Amyas  Leigh." 

"Earnest,  Will?" 

"As  I  am  a  sinful  man." 

"Well  done,  young  hawk  of  the  White  Cliff!" 

"  I  had  rather  have  called  it  Gallantry  Bower  still, 
though,"  said  Will,  punning  on  the  double  name  of 
the  noble  precipice  which  forms  the  highest  point  of 
the  deer  park. 

"  Well,  as  long  as  you  are  on  land,  you  know  it  is 
Gallantry  Bower  still :  but  we  always  call  it  White 
Cliff  when  you  see  it  from  the  sea-board,  as  you  and 
I  shall  do,  I  hope,  to-morrow  evening." 


170  CLOVELLY  COURT 

"What,  so  soon?" 

"Dare  we  lose  a  day?" 

"  I  suppose  not :  heigh-ho  ! " 

And  they  rode  on  again  in  silence,  Amyas  in  the 
meanwhile  being  not  a  little  content  (in  spite  of  his 
late  self-renunciation)  to  find  that  one  of  his  rivals  at 
least  was  going  to  raise  the  siege  of  the  Eose  garden 
for  a  few  months,  and  withdraw  his  forces  to  the  coast 
of  Kerry. 

As  they  went  over  Bursdon,  Amyas  pulled  up 
suddenly. 

"Did  you  not  hear  a  horse's  step  on  our  left?" 

"On  our  left — coming  up  from  Welsford  moor? 
Impossible  at  this  time  of  night.  It  must  have  been 
a  stag,  or  a  sownder  of  wild  swine :  or  may  be  only 
an  old  cow." 

"It  was  the  ring  of  iron,  friend.  Let  us  stand 
and  watch." 

Bursdon  and  Welsford  were  then,  as  now,  a  rolling 
range  of  dreary  moors,  unbroken  by  tor  or  tree,  or 
anything  save  few  and  far  between  a  world-old  furze- 
bank  which  marked  the  common  rights  of  some 
distant  cattle  farm,  and  crossed  then,  not  as  now,  by 
a  decent  road,  but  by  a  rough  confused  trackway,  the 
remnant  of  an  old  Eoman  road  from  Clovelly  dikes 
to  Launceston.  To  the  left  it  trended  down  towards 
a  lower  range  of  moors,  which  form  the  water-shed 
of  the  heads  of  Torridge ;  and  thither  the  two  young 
men  peered  down  over  the  expanse  of  bog  and  furze, 
which  glittered  for  miles  beneath  the  moon,  one  sheet 
of  frosted  silver,  in  the  heavy  autumn  dew. 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  171 

"If  any  of  Eustace's  party  are  trying  to  get  home 
from  Freshwater,  they  might  save  a  couple  of  miles 
by  coming  across  Welsford,  instead  of  going  by  the 
main  track,  as  we  have  done."  So  said  Amyas,  who 
though  (luckily  for  him)  no  "  genius,"  was  cunning  as 
a  fox  in  all  matters  of  tactic  and  practic,  and  would 
have  in  these  days  proved  his  right  to  be  considered 
an  intellectual  person  by  being  a  thorough  man  of 
business. 

"  If  any  of  his  party  are  mad,  they'll  try  it,  and 
be  stogged  till  the  day  of  judgment.  There  are  bogs 
in  the  bottom  twenty  feet  deep.  Plague  on  the  fellow 
whoever  he  is,  he  has  dodged  us  !     Look  there !" 

It  was  too  true.  The  unknown  horseman  had 
evidently  dismounted  below,  and  led  his  horse  up  on 
the  other  side  of  a  long  furze-dike ;  till  coming  to  the 
point  where  it  turned  away  again  from  his  intended 
course,  he  appeared  against  the  sky,  in  the  act  of 
leading  his  nag  over  a  gap. 

"Eide  like  the  wind!"  and  both  youths  galloped 
across  furze  and  heather  at  him ;  but  ere  they  were 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  him,  he  had  leapt  again  on 
his  horse,  and  was  away  far  ahead. 

"  There  is  the  dor  to  us,  with  a  vengeance,"  cried 
Gary,  putting  in  the  spurs. 

"  It  is  but  a  lad ;  we  shall  never  catch  him." 

"  I'll  try,  though ;  and  do  you  lumber  after  as  you 
can,  old  heavysides ;"  and  Gary  pushed  forward. 

Amyas  lost  sight  of  him  for  ten  minutes,  and  then 
came  up  with  him  dismounted,  and  feeling  discon- 
solately at  his  horse's  knees. 


172  CLOVELLY  COURT 

"Look  for  my  head.  It  lies  somewhere  about 
among  the  furze  there ;  and  oh  !  I  am  as  full  of 
needles  as  ever  was  a  pin-cushion." 

"Are  his  knees  broken f 

"  I  daren't  look.  No,  I  believe  not.  Come  along, 
and  make  the  best  of  a  bad  matter.  The  fellow  is  a 
mile  ahead,  and  to  the  right,  too." 

"  He  is  going  for  Moorwinstow,  then ;  but  where 
is  my  cousin  f 

"  Behind  us,  I  dare  say.    We  shall  nab  him  at  least. " 

"  Gary,  promise  me  that  if  we  do,  you  will  keep 
out  of  sight,  and  let  me  manage  him." 

"  My  boy,  I  only  want  Evan  Morgans  and  Morgan 
Evans.  He  is  but  the  cat's-paw,  and  we  are  after  the 
cats  themselves." 

And  so  they  went  on  another  dreary  six  miles,  till 
the  land  trended  downwards,  showing  dark  glens  and 
masses  of  woodland  far  below. 

"Now,  then,  straight  to  Chapel,  and  stop  the  foxes' 
earth  1  Or  through  the  King's  park  to  Stow,  and  get 
out  Sir  Eichard's  hounds,  hue  and  cry,  and  Queen's 
warrant  in  proper  form  V 

"  Let  us  see  Sir  Eichard  first ;  and  whatsoever  he 
decides  about  my  uncle,  I  will  endure  as  a  loyal 
subject  must." 

So  they  rode  through  the  King's  park,  while  Sir 
Eichard's  colts  came  whinnying  and  staring  round  the 
intruders,  and  down  through  a  rich  woodland  lane  five 
hundred  feet  into  the  valley,  till  they  could  hear  the 
brawling  of  the  little  trout-stream,  and  beyond,  the 
everlasting  thunder  of  the  ocean  surf. 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  173 

Down  through  warm  woods,  all  fragrant  with 
dying  autumn  flowers,  leaving  far  above  the  keen 
Atlantic  breeze,  into  one  of  those  delicious  western 
Combes,  and  so  past  the  mill,  and  the  little  knot  of 
flower-clad  cottages.  In  the  window  of  one  of  them 
a  light  was  still  burning.  The  two  young  men  knew 
well  whose  window  that  was ;  and  both  hearts  beat 
fast;  for  Eose  Salterne  slept,  or  rather  seemed  to 
wake,  in  that  chamber. 

"Folks  are  late  in  Combe  to-night,"  said  Amyas, 
as  carelessly  as  he  could. 

Cary  looked  earnestly  at  the  window,  and  then 
sharply  enough  at  Amyas;  but  Amyas  was  busy 
settling  his  stirrup;  and  Cary  rode  on,  unconscious 
that  every  fibre  in  his  companion's  huge  frame  was 
trembling  like  his  own. 

"  Muggy  and  close  down  here,"  said  Amyas,  who,  in 
reality,  was  quite  faint  with  his  own  inward  struggles. 

"We  shall  be  at  Stow  gate  in  five  minutes,"  said 
Cary,  looking  back  and  down  longingly  as  his  horse 
climbed  the  opposite  hill;  but  a  turn  of  the  zigzag 
road  hid  the  cottage,  and  the  next  thought  was,  how 
to  effect  an  entrance  into  Stow  at  three  in  the  morning 
without  being  eaten  by  the  ban-dogs,  who  were  already 
howling  and  growling  at  the  sound  of  the  horse-hoofs. 

However,  they  got  safely  in,  after  much  knocking 
and  calling,  through  the  postern-gate  in  the  high  west 
wall,  into  a  mansion,  the  description  whereof  I  must 
defer  to  the  next  chapter,  seeing  that  the  moon  has 
already  sunk  into  the  Atlantic,  and  there  is  darkness 
over  land  and  sea. 


174  CLOVELLY  COURT 

Sir  Richard,  in  his  long  gown,  was  soon  downstairs 
in  the  hall ;  the  letter  read,  and  the  story  told ;  but 
ere  it  was  half  finished — 

"Anthony,  call  up  a  groom,  and  let  him  bring  me 
a  horse  round.  Gentlemen,  if  you  will  excuse  me  five 
minutes,  I  shall  be  at  your  service." 

"You  will  not  go  alone,  Eichardf  asked  Lady 
Grenvile,  putting  her  beautiful  face  in  its  nightcoif 
out  of  an  adjoining  door. 

"  Surely,  sweet  chuck,  we  three  are  enough  to  take 
two  poor  polecats  of  Jesuits.  Go  in,  and  help  me  to 
boot  and  gird." 

In  half  an  hour  they  were  down  and  up  across  the 
valley  again,  under  the  few  low  ashes  dipt  flat  by 
the  sea-breeze  which  stood  round  the  lonely  gate  of 
Chapel. 

"  Mr.  Gary,  there  is  a  back  path  across  the  downs 
to  Marsland;  go  and  guard  that."  Gary  rode  off; 
and  Sir  Richard,  as  he  knocked  loudly  at  the  gate — 

"Mr.  Leigh,  you  see  that  I  have  consulted  your 
honour,  and  that  of  your  poor  uncle,  by  adventuring 
thus  alone.  What  will  you  have  me  do  now,  which 
may  not  be  unfit  for  me  and  you  1" 

"Oh,  sir!"  said  Amyas,  with  tears  in  his  honest 
eyes,  "  you  have  shown  yourself  once  more  what  you 
always  have  been — my  dear  and  beloved  master  on 
earth,  not  second  even  to  my  admiral  Sir  Francis 
Drake." 

"Or  the  Queen,  I  hope,"  said  Grenvile,  smiling, 
"  but  ]pocas  palahras.     What  will  you  do  ? " 

"  My  wretched  cousin,  sir,  may  not  have  returned 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  175 

— and  if  I  might  watch  for  him  on  the  main  road — 
unless  you  want  me  with  you." 

"Eichard  Grenvile  can  walk  alone,  lad.  But  what 
will  you  do  with  your  cousin  f 

"  Send  him  out  of  the  country,  never  to  return ;  or 
if  he  refuses,  run  him  through  on  the  spot." 

"Go,  lad."  And  as  he  spoke,  a  sleepy  voice  asked 
inside  the  gate,  "Who  was  there f 

"Sir  Richard  Grenvile.  Open,  in  the  Queen's 
namef 

"Sir  Richards  He  is  in  bed,  and  be  hanged  to 
you.     No  honest  folk  come  at  this  hour  of  night." 

"  Amy  as  ! "  shouted  Sir  Richard.    Amyas  rode  back. 

"Burst  that  gate  for  me,  while  I  hold  your  horse." 

Amyas  leaped  down,  took  up  a  rock  from  the  road- 
side, such  as  Homer's  heroes  used  to  send  at  each 
other's  heads,  and  in  an  instant  the  door  was  flat  on 
the  ground,  and  the  serving-man  on  his  back  inside, 
while  Sir  Richard  quietly  entering  over  it,  like  Una 
into  the  hut,  told  the  fellow  to  get  up  and  hold  his 
horse  for  him  (which  the  clod,  who  knew  well  enough 
that  terrible  voice,  did  without  further  murmurs),  and 
then  strode  straight  to  the  front  door.  It  was  already 
opened.  The  household  had  been  up  and  about  all 
along,  or  the  noise  at  the  entry  had  aroused  them. 

Sir  Richard  knocked,  however,  at  the  open  door; 
and,  to  his  astonishment,  his  knock  was  answered  by 
Mr.  Leigh  himself,  fully  dressed,  and  candle  in  hand. 

"Sir  Richard  Grenvile  !  What,  sir !  is  this  neigh- 
bourly, not  to  say  gentle,  to  break  into  my  house  in 
the  dead  of  night  r' 


176  CLOVELLY  COURT 

"  I  broke  your  outer  door,  sir,  because  I  was  refused 
entrance  when  I  asked  in  the  Queen's  name.  I  knocked 
at  your  inner  one,  as  I  should  have  knocked  at  the 
poorest  cottager's  in  the  parish,  because  I  found  it  open. 
You  have  two  Jesuits  here,  sir !  and  here  is  the  Queen's 
warrant  for  apprehending  them.  I  have  signed  it  with 
my  own  hand,  and,  moreover,  serve  it  now,  with  my 
own  hand,  in  order  to  save  you  scandal — and  it  may 
be,  worse.     I  must  have  these  men,  Mr.  Leigh." 

"My  dear  Sir  Eichard  ! " 

"  I  must  have  them,  or  I  must  search  the  house ; 
and  you  would  not  put  either  yourself  or  me  to  so 
shameful  a  necessity  f 

"My  dear  Sir  Eichard  ! " 

"Must  I,  then,  ask  you  to  stand  back  from  your 
own  doorway,  my  dear  sirl"  said  Grenvile.  And 
then  changing  his  voice  to  that  fearful  lion's  roar,  for 
which  he  was  famous,  and  which  it  seemed  impossible 
that  lips  so  delicate  could  utter,  he  thundered, 
"  Knaves  behind  there  !     Back !" 

This  was  spoken  to  half-a-dozen  grooms  and  serving- 
men,  who,  well  armed,  were  clustered  in  the  passage. 

"What^  swords  out,  you  sons  of  cliff  rabbits  f 
And  in  a  moment.  Sir  Eichard's  long  blade  flashed 
out  also,  and  putting  Mr.  Leigh  gently  aside,  as  if  he 
had  been  a  child,  he  walked  up  to  the  party,  who 
vanished  right  and  left ;  having  expected  a  cur  dog, 
in  the  shape  of  a  parish  constable,  and  come  upon  a 
lion  instead.  They  were  stout  fellows  enough,  no 
doubt,  in  a  fair  fight :  but  they  had  no  stomach  to  be 
hanged  in  a  row  at  Launceston  Castle,  after  a  pre- 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  177 

liminary  running  through  the  body  by  that  redoubted 
admiral  and  most  unpeaceful  justice  of  the  peace. 

"  And  now,  my  dear  Mr.  Leigh,"  said  Sir  Richard, 
as  blandly  as  ever,  "  where  are  my  men  1  The  night 
is  cold ;  and  you,  as  well  as  I,  need  to  be  in  our  beds." 

"  The  men,  Sir  Richard — the  Jesuits — they  are  not 
here,  indeed." 

"Not  here,  sir"?" 

"  On  the  word  of  a  gentleman,  they  left  my  house 
an  hour  ago.  Believe  me,  sir,  they  did.  I  will  swear 
to  you,  if  you  need." 

"I  believe  Mr.  Leigh  of  Chapel's  word  without 
oaths.     Whither  are  they  gone  1" 

"  Nay,  sir — how  can  I  tell  1  they  are — they  are,  as 
I  may  say,  fled,  sir;  escaped." 

"  With  your  connivance  ;  at  least  with  your  son's. 
Where  are  they  gone*?" 

"As  I  live,  I  do  not  know." 

"  Mr.  Leigh — is  this  possible  ?  Can  you  add 
untruth  to  that  treason  from  the  punishment  of 
which  I  am  trying  to  shield  youl" 

Poor  Mr.  Leigh  burst  into  tears. 

"Oh!  my  God!  my  God!  is  it  come  to  this? 
Over  and  above  having  the  fear  and  anxiety  of  keep- 
ing these  black  rascals  in  my  house,  and  having  to 
stop  their  villanous  mouths  every  minute,  for  fear 
they  should  hang  me  and  themselves,  I  am  to  be 
called  a  traitor  and  a  liar  in  my  old  age,  and  that, 
too,  by  Richard  Grenville  !  Would  God  I  had  never 
been  bom  1  Would  God  I  had  no  soul  to  be  saved, 
and  I'd  just  go  and  drown  care  in  drink,  and  let  the 

VOL.  I.  N  w.  H. 


178  CLOVELLY  COURT 

Queen  and  the  Pope  fight  it  out  their  own  way ! " 
And  the  poor  old  man  sank  into  a  chair,  and  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands,  and  then  leaped  up  again. 

"Bless  my  heart!  Excuse  me.  Sir  Richard — to 
sit  down  and  leave  you  standing.  'Slife,  sir,  sorrow 
is  making  a  hawbuck  of  me.  Sit  down,  my  dear  sir! 
my  worshipful  sir !  or  rather,  come  with  me  into  my 
room,  and  hear  a  poor  wretched  man's  story,  for  I 
swear  before  God  the  men  are  fled ;  and  my  poor  boy 
Eustace  is  not  home  either,  and  the  groom  tells  me  that 
his  devil  of  a  cousin  has  broken  his  jaw  for  him ;  and 
his  mother  is  all  but  mad  this  hour  past.  Good  lack ! 
good  lack ! " 

"  He  nearly  murdered  his  angel  of  a  cousin,  sir  I " 
said  Sir  Richard  severely. 

"What,  sirl    They  never  told  me." 

"He  had  stabbed  his  cousin  Frank  three  times, 
sir,  before  Amyas,  who  is  as  noble  a  lad  as  walks 
God's  earth,  struck  him  down.  And  in  defence  of 
what,  forsooth,  did  he  play  the  rufiian  and  the  swash- 
buckler, but  to  luring  home  to  your  house  this  letter, 
sir,  which  you  shall  hear  at  your  leisure,  the  moment 
I  have  taken  order  about  your  priests."  And  walk- 
ing out  of  the  house,  he  went  round  and  called  to 
Gary  to  come  to  him." 

"  The  birds  are  flown,  Will,"  whispered  he. 
"There  is  but  one  chance  for  us,  and  that  is  Mars- 
land  Mouth.  If  they  are  trying  to  take  boat  there, 
you  may  be  yet  in  time.  If  they  are  gone  inland 
we  can  do  nothing  till  we  raise  the  hue  and  cry  to- 
morrow. " 


IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  179 

And  Will  galloped  off  over  the  downs  toward 
Marsland,  while  Sir  Richard  ceremoniously  walked  in 
again,  and  professed  himself  ready  and  happy  to  have 
the  honour  of  an  audience  in  Mr.  Leigh's  private 
chamber.  And  as  we  know  pretty  well  already  what 
was  to  be  discussed  therein,  we  had  better  go  over  to 
Marsland  Mouth,  and,  if  possible,  arrive  there  before 
Will  Gary :  seeing  that  he  amved  hot  and  swearing, 
half  an  hour  too  late. 

Note. — I  have  shrunk  somewhat  from  giving  these  and  other 
sketches  (true  and  accurate  as  I  believe  them  to  be)  of  Ireland 
during  Elizabeth's  reign,  when  the  tyranny  and  lawlessness  of 
the  feudal  chiefs  had  reduced  the  island  to  such  a  state  of  weak- 
ness and  barbarism,  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  England 
either  to  crush  the  Norman- Irish  nobility,  and  organise  some 
sort  of  law  and  order,  or  to  leave  Ireland  an  easy  prey  to  the 
Spaniards,  or  any  other  nation  which  should  go  to  war  -with  us. 
The  work  was  done — clumsily  rather  than  cruelly  ;  but  wrongs 
were  inflicted,  and  avenged  by  fresh  wrongs,  and  those  by  fresh 
again.  '  May  the  memory  of  them  perish  for  ever  !  It  has  been 
resei-ved  for  this  age,  and  for  the  liberal  policy  of  this  age,  to 
see  the  last  ebullitions  of  Celtic  excitability  die  out  harmless 
and  ashamed  of  itself,  and  to  find  that  the  Irishman,  when  he 
is  brought  as  a  soldier  under  the  regenerative  influence  of  law, 
discipline,  self-respect,  and  loyalty,  can  prove  himself  a  worthy 
rival  of  the  more  stern  Norse-Saxon  warrior.  God  grant  that 
the  military  brotherhood  between  Irish  and  English,  which  is 
the  especial  glory  of  the  present  war,  may  be  the  germ  of  a 
brotherhood  industrial,  political,  and  hereafter,  perhaps,  re- 
ligious also  ;  and  that  not  merely  the  corpses  of  heroes,  but  the 
feuds  and  wrongs  which  have  parted  them  for  centuries,  may 
lie  buried,  once  and  for  ever,  in  the  noble  graves  of  Alma  and 
Inkerman. 


CHAPTER  VL 

THE  COOMBES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST. 

"Far,  far,  from  hence 
The  Adriatic  breaks  in  a  warm  bay 
Among  the  green  lUyrian  hills,  and  there 
The  sunshine  in  the  happy  glens  is  fair, 
And  by  the  sea,  and  in  the  brakes 
The  grass  is  cool,  the  sea-side  air 
Buoyant  and  fresh,  the  mountain  flowers 
More  virginal  and  sweet  than  ours." 

Matthew  Arnold. 

And  even  such  are  those  delightful  glens,  which  cut 
the  high  table-land  of  the  confines  of  Devon  and  Corn- 
wall, and  opening  each  through  its  gorge  of  down  and 
rock,  towards  the  boundless  Western  Ocean.  Each  is 
like  the  other,  and  each  is  like  no  other  English  scenery. 
Each  has  its  upright  walls,  inland  of  rich  oak-wood, 
nearer  the  sea  of  dark  green  furze,  then  of  smooth 
turf,  then  of  weird  black  cUfFs  which  range  out  right 
and  left  far  into  the  deep  sea,  in  castles,  spires,  and 
wings  of  jagged  iron-stone.  Each  has  its  narrow  strip 
of  fertile  meadow,  its  crystal  trout  stream  winding 
across  and  across  from  one  hill-foot  to  the  other ;  its 
grey  stone  mill,  with  the  water  sparkling  and  humming 
round  the  dripping  wheel ;  its  dark  rock  pools  above 
the  tide  mark,  where  the  salmon-trout  gather  in  from 


THE  COOMBES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST.  181 

their  Atlantic  wanderings,  after  each  autumn  flood; 
its  ridge  of  blown  sand,  bright  with  golden  trefoil  and 
crimson  lady's  finger ;  its  grey  bank  of  polished  pebbles, 
down  which  the  stream  rattles  toward  the  sea  below. 
Each  has  its  black  field  of  jagged  shark's-tooth  rock 
which  paves  the  cove  from  side  to  side,  streaked  with 
here  and  there  a  pink  line  of  shell  sand,  and  laced 
with  white  foam  from  the  eternal  surge,  stretching  in 
parallel  lines  out  to  the  westward,  in  strata  set  upright 
on  edge,  or  tilted  towards  each  other  at  strange  angles 
by  primeval  earthquakes; — such  is  the  "Mouth" — as 
those  coves  are  called;  and  such  the  jaw  of  teeth 
which  they  display,  one  rasp  of  which  would  grind 
abroad  the  timbers  of  the  stoutest  ship.  To  landward, 
all  richness,  softness,  and  peace ;  to  seaward,  a  waste 
and  howling  wilderness  of  rock  and  roller,  barren  to  the 
fisherman,  and  hopeless  to  the  shipwrecked  mariner. 

In  only  one  of  these  "Mouths"  is  a  landing  for 
boats,  made  possible  by  a  long  sea-wall  of  rock,  which 
protects  it  from  the  rollers  of  the  Atlantic ;  and  that 
Mouth  is  Marsland,  the  abode  of  the  White  Witch, 
Lucy  Passmore;  whither,  as  Sir  Eichard  Grenvile 
rightly  judged,  the  Jesuits  were  gone.  But  before 
the  Jesuits  came,  two  other  persons  were  standing  on 
that  lonely  beach,  under  the  bright  October  moon, 
namely,  Eose  Salterne  and  the  White  Witch  herself ; 
for  Eose,  fevered  with  curiosity  and  superstition,  and 
allured  by  the  very  wildness  and  possible  danger  of 
the  spell,  had  kept  her  appointment;  and,  a  few 
minutes  before  midnight,  stood  on  the  grey  shingle 
beach  with  her  counsellor. 


182  THE  COOMBES  OF 

"  You  be  safe  enough  here  to-night,  Miss.  My  old 
man  is  snoring  sound  abed,  and  there's  no  other  soul 
ever  sets  foot  here  o'nights,  excej^t  it  be  the  mermaids 
now  and  then.  Goodness  Father,  where's  our  boat  1 
It  ought  to  be  up  here  on  the  pebbles." 

Eose  pointed  to  a  strip  of  sand  some  forty  yards 
nearer  the  sea,  where  the  boat  lay. 

"Oh,  the  lazy  old  villain!  he's  been  round  the 
rocks  after  pollock  this  evening,  and  never  taken  the 
trouble  to  hale  the  boat  up.  I'll  trounce  him  for  it 
when  I  get  home.  I  only  hope  he's  made  her  fast 
where  she  is,  that's  all !  He's  more  plague  to  me  than 
ever  my  money  will  be.     0  deary  me  !" 

And  the  goodwife  bustled  down  toward  the  boat, 
with  Rose  behind  her. 

"  Iss,  'tis  fast,  sure  enough :  and  the  oars  aboard 
too !  Well,  I  never !  Oh,  the  lazy  thief,  to  leave 
they  here  to  be  stole  !  I'll  just  sit  in  the  boat,  dear, 
and  watch  mun,  while  you  go  down  to  the  say ;  for 
you  must  be  all  alone  to  yourself  you  know,  or  you'll 
see  nothing.  There's  the  looking-glass ;  now  go,  and 
dip  your  head  three  times,  and  mind  you  don't  look 
to  land  or  sea  before  you've  said  the  words,  and 
looked  upon  the  glass.  Now,  be  quick,  it's  just  upon 
midnight." 

And  she  coiled  herself  up  in  the  boat,  while  Rose 
went  faltering  down  the  strip  of  sand,  some  twenty 
yards  farther,  and  there  slipping  off  her  clothes,  stood 
shivering  and  trembling  for  a  moment  before  she 
entered  the  sea. 

She  was  between  two  walls  of  rock :  that  on  her 


THE  FAK  WEST.  183 

left  hand,  some  twenty  feet  high,  hid  her  in  deepest 
shade ;  that  on  her  right,  though  much  lower,  took  the 
whole  blaze  of  the  midnight  moon.  Great  festoons  of 
live  and  purple  sea-weed  hung  from  it,  shading  dark 
cracks  and  crevices,  fit  haunts  for  all  the  goblins  of  the 
sea.  On  her  left  hand,  the  peaks  of  the  rock  frowned 
down  ghastly  black ;  on  her  right  hand,  far  aloft,  the 
downs  slept  bright  and  cold. 

The  breeze  had  died  away  ;  not  even  a  roller  broke 
the  perfect  stillness  of  the  cove.  The  gulls  were  all 
asleep  upon  the  ledges.  Over  all  was  a  true  autumn 
silence;  a  silence  which  may  be  heard.  She  stood 
awed,  and  listened  in  hope  of  a  sound  which  might 
tell  her  that  any  living  thing  beside  herself  existed. 

There  was  a  faint  bleat,  as  of  a  new-born  lamb, 
high  above  her  head;  she  started  and  looked  up. 
Then  a  wail  from  the  cliffs,  as  of  a  child  in  pain, 
answered  by  another  from  the  opposite  rocks.  They 
were  but  the  passing  snipe,  and  the  otter  calling  to 
her  brood;  but  to  her  they  were  mysterious,  super- 
natural goblins,  come  to  answer  to  her  call.  Never- 
theless, they  only  quickened  her  expectation ;  and  the 
witch  had  told  her  not  to  fear  them.  If  she  performed 
the  rite  duly,  nothing  would  harm  her :  but  she  could 
hear  the  beating  of  her  own  heart,  as  she  stepped, 
mirror  in  hand,  into  the  cold  water,  waded  hastily,  as 
far  as  she  dare,  and  then  stopped  aghast. 

A  ring  of  flame  was  round  her  waist ;  every  limb 
was  bathed  in  lambent  light;  all  the  multitudinous 
life  of  the  autumn  sea,  stirred  by  her  approach,  had 
flashed  suddenly  into  glory ; 


184  THE  COOMBES  OF 

"  And  around  lier  the  lamps  of  the  sea  nymphs, 
Myriad  fiery  globes,  swam  heaving  and  panting,  and  rainbows, 
Crimson  and  azure  and  emerald,  were  broken  in  star-showers, 

lighting 
Far  through  the  wine-dark  depths  of  the  crystal,  the  gardens 

of  Nereus, 
Coral  and  sea-fan  and  tangle,  the  blooms  and  the  palms  of 

the  ocean." 

She  could  see  every  shell  which  crawled  on  the  white 

sand  at  her  feet,  every  rock-fish  which  played  in  and 

out  of  the  crannies,  and  stared  at  her  with  its  broad 

bright  eyes ;  while  the  great  palmate  oarweeds  which 

waved  along  the  chasm,  half-seen  in  the  glimmering 

water,  seemed  to  beckon  her  down  with  long  brown 

hands  to  a  grave   amid  their   chiUy   bowers.      She 

turned  to  flee :  but  she  had  gone  too  far  now  to 

retreat;  hastily   dipping  her  head  three   times,  she 

hurried  out  to  the  sea-marge,  and  looking  through 

her  dripping  locks  at  the  magic  mirror,  pronounced 

the  incantation— 

**  A  maiden  pure,  here  I  stand, 
Neither  on  sea  nor  yet  on  land  ; 
Angels  watch  me  on  either  hand. 
If  you  be  landsman,  come  down  the  strand  ; 
If  you  be  sailor,  come  up  the  sand  ; 
If  you  be  angel,  come  from  the  sky, 
Look  in  my  glass,  and  pass  me  by. 
Look  in  my  glass,  and  go  from  the  shore  ; 
Leave  me,  but  love  me  for  evermore." 

The  incantation  was  hardly  finished;  her  eyes 
were  straining  into  the  mirror,  where,  as  may  be 
supposed,  nothing  appeared  but  the  sparkle  of  the 
drops  from  her  own  tresses,  when  she  heard  rattling 
down  the  pebbles  the  hasty  feet  of  men  and  horses. 


THE  FAR  WEST.  185 

She  darted  into  a  cavern  of  the  high  rock,  and 
hastily  dressed  herself:  the  steps  held  on  right  to 
the  boat.  Peeping  out,  half-dead  with  terror,  she 
saw  there  four  men,  two  of  whom  had  just  leaped 
from  their  horses,  and  turning  them  adrift,  began  to 
help  the  other  two  in  running  the  boat  down. 

Whereon,  out  of  the  stern  sheets,  arose,  like  an 
angry  ghost,  the  portly  figure  of  Lucy  Passmore,  and 
shrieked  in  shrillest  treble — 

"Eh!  ye  villains,  ye  roogs,  what  do  ye  want 
staling  poor  folks'  boats  by  night  like  this*?" 

The  whole  party  recoiled  in  terror,  and  one  turned 
to  run  up  the  beach,  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
"  'Tis  a  marmaiden — a  marmaiden  asleep  in  Willy 
Passmore's  boat ! " 

"I  wish  it  were  any  sich  good  luck,"  she  could 
hear  Will  say;  "'tis  my  wife,  oh  dear!"  and  he 
cowered  down,  expecting  the  hearty  cuff  which  he 
received  duly,  as  the  White  Witch,  leaping  out  of  the 
boat,  dared  any  man  to  touch  it,  and  thundered  to 
her  husband  to  go  home  to  bed. 

The  wily  dame,  as  Rose  well  guessed,  was  keeping 
up  this  delay  chiefly  to  gain  time  for  her  pupil :  but 
she  had  also  more  solid  reasons  for  making  the  fight 
as  hard  as  possible;  for  she,  as  well  as  Rose,  had 
already  discerned  in  the  ungainly  figure  of  one  of  the 
party  the  same  suspicious  Welsh  gentleman,  on  whose 
calling  she  had  divined  long  ago;  and  she  was  so 
loyal  a  subject  as  to  hold  in  extreme  horror  her 
husband's  meddling  with  such  "Popish  skulkers"  (as 
she  called  the  whole  party  roundly  to  their  face) — 


186  THE  COOMBES  OF 

unless  on  consideration  of  a  very  handsome  sum  of 
money.  In  vain  Parsons  thundered,  Campian  en 
treated,  Mr.  Leigh's  groom  swore,  and  her  husband 
danced  round  in  an  agony  of  mingled  fear  and 
covetousness. 

"No,"  she  cried,  "as  I  am  an  honest  woman  and 
loyal !  This  is  why  you  left  the  boat  down  to  the 
shoore,  you  old  traitor,  you,  is  it  ^  To  help  off  sich 
noxious  trade  as  this  out  of  the  hands  of  her  Majesty's 
quorum  and  rotulorum ?  Eh?  Stand  back,  cowards ! 
Will  you  strike  a  woman?" 

This  last  speech  (as  usual)  was  merely  indicative 
of  her  intention  to  strike  the  men ;  for,  getting  out 
one  of  the  oars,  she  swung  it  round  and  round  fiercely, 
and  at  last  caught  Father  Parsons  such  a  crack  across 
the  shins,  that  he  retreated  with  a  howl. 

"Lucy,  Lucy!"  shrieked  her  husband,  in  shrillest 
Devon  falsetto,  "be  you  mazed  ?  .  Be  you  mazed,  lass? 
They  promised  me  two  gold  nobles  before  I'd  lend 
them  the  boot ! " 

"  Tu  ? "  shrieked  the  matron,  with  a  tone  of 
ineffable  scorn.     "And  do  yu  call  yourself  a  man?" 

"  Tu  nobles  !  tu  nobles ! "  shrieked  he  again, 
hopping  about  at  oar's  length. 

"  Tu  ?    And  would  you  sell  your  soul  under  ten  ?" 

"Oh,  if  that  is  it,"  cried  poor  Campian,  "give  her 
ten,  give  her  ten,  brother  Pars — Morgans,  I  mean, 
and  take  care  of  your  shins,  '  OfFa  Cerbero,'  you  know 
— Oh,  virago!  'Furens  quid  foemina  possit;'  Cer- 
tainly she  is  some  Lamia,  some  Gorgon,  some " 

"Take  that,  for  your  Lamys  and  Gorgons  to  an 


THE  FAR  WEST.  187 

honest  woman!"  and  in  a  moment  poor  Campian's 
thin  legs  were  cut  from  under  him,  while  the  virago, 
"mounting  on  his  trunk  astride,"  like  that  more 
famous  one  on  Hudibras,  cried,  "Ten  nobles,  or  I'll 
kep  ye  here  till  morning  ! "  And  the  ten  nobles  were 
paid  into  her  hand. 

And  now  the  boat,  its  dragon  guardian  being  paci- 
fied, was  run  down  to  the  sea,  and  close  past  the  nook 
where  poor  little  Eose  was  squeezing  herself  into  the 
farthest  and  darkest  corner,  among  wet  sea-weed 
and  rough  barnacles,  holding  her  breath  as  they  ap- 
proached. 

They  passed  her,  and  the  boat's  keel  was  already 
in  the  water;  Lucy  had  followed  them  close,  for 
reasons  of  her  own,  and  perceiving  close  to  the  water's 
edge  a  dark  cavern,  cunningly  surmised  that  it  con- 
tained Eose,  and  planted  her  ample  person  right  across 
its  mouth,  while  she  grumbled  at  her  husband,  the 
strangers,  and  above  all  at  Mr.  Leigh's  groom,  to  whom 
she  prophesied  pretty  plainly  Launceston  gaol  and  the 
gallows ;  while  the  wretched  serving-man,  who  would 
as  soon  have  dared  to  leap  off  Welcombe  Cliff,  as  to 
return  railing  for  railing  to  the  White  Witch,  in  vain 
entreated  her  mercy,  and  tried,  by  all  possible  dodging, 
to  keep  one  of  the  party  between  himself  and  her,  lest 
her  redoubted  eye  should  "  overlook  "  him  once  more 
to  his  ruin. 

But  the  night's  adventures  were  not  ended  yet ;  for 
just  as  the  boat  was  launched,  a  faint  halloo  was  heard 
upon  the  beach,  and  a  minute  after,  a  horseman  plunged 
down  the  pebbles,  and  along  the  sand,  and  pulling  his 


188  THE  COOMBES  OF 

horse  up  on  its  haunches  close  to  the  terrified  group, 
dropped,  rather  than  leaped,  from  the  saddle. 

The  serving -man,  though  he  dared  not  tackle  a 
witch,  knew  well  enough  how  to  deal  with  a  swords- 
man ;  and  drawing,  sprang  upon  the  new  comer :  and 
then  recoiled — 

"  God  forgive  me,  it's  Mr.  Eustace  !  Oh,  dear  sir, 
I  took  you  for  one  of  Sir  Richard's  men !  Oh,  sir, 
you're  hurt!" 

"A  scratch,  a  scratch!"  almost  moaned  Eustace. 
"Help  me  into  the  boat.  Jack.  Gentlemen,  I  must 
with  you." 

"  Not  with  us,  surely,  my  dear  son,  vagabonds  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth  f  said  kind-hearted  Campian. 

"With  you,  for  ever.  All  is  over  here.  Whither 
God  and  the  cause  lead" — and  he  staggered  toward 
the  boat. 

As  he  passed  Rose,  she  saw  his  ghastly  bleeding 
face,  half  bound  up  with  a  handkerchief,  which  could 
not  conceal  the  convulsions  of  rage,  shame,  and  despair, 
which  twisted  it  from  all  its  usual  beauty.  His  eyes 
glared  wildly  round — and  once,  right  into  the  cavern. 
They  met  hers,  so  full,  and  keen,  and  dreadful,  that 
forgetting  she  was  utterly  invisible,  the  terrified  girl 
was  on  the  point  of  shrieking  aloud. 

"He  has  overlooked  me !"  said  she,  shuddering  to 
herself,  as  she  recollected  his  threat  of  yesterday. 

"Who  has  wounded  you?"  asked  Campian. 

"  My  cousin — Amyas — and  taken  the  letter ! " 

"The  devil  take  him,  then !"  cried  Parsons,  stamp- 
ing up  and  down  upon  the  sand  in  fury. 


THE  FAR  WEST.  189 

"  Ay,  curse  him — you  may  !  I  dare  not !  He  saved 
me — sent  me  here !" — and,  with  a  groan,  he  made  an 
effort  to  enter  the  boat. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  young  gentleman,"  cried  Lucy  Pass- 
more,  her  woman's  heart  bursting  out  at  the  sight  of 
pain,  "  you  must  not  goo  forth  with  a  grane  wound 
like  to  that.  Do  ye  let  me  just  bind  mun  up — do  ye 
now !"  and  she  advanced. 

Eustace  thrust  her  back. 

"  No  !  better  bear  it.  I  deserve  it — devils !  I  de- 
serve it !  On  board,  or  we  shall  all  be  lost — William 
Gary  is  close  behind  me  ! " 

And  at  that  news  the  boat  was  thrust  into  the  sea, 
faster  than  ever  it  went  before,  and  only  in  time ;  for 
it  was  but  just  round  the  rocks,  and  out  of  sight, 
when  the  rattle  of  Gary's  horsehoofs  was  heard  above. 

"  That  rascal  of  Mr.  Leigh's  will  catch  it  now,  the 
Popish  villain!"  said  Lucy  Passmore  aloud.  "You 
lie  still  there,  dear  life,  and  settle  your  sperrits ;  you'm 
so  safe  as  ever  was  rabbit  to  burrow.  I'll  see  what 
happens,  if  I  die  for  it !"  And  so  saying,  she  squeezed 
herself  up  through  a  cleft  to  a  higher  ledge,  from 
whence  she  could  see  what  passed  in  the  valley. 

"  There  mun  is  !  in  the  meadow,  trying  to  catch  the 
horses !  There  comes  Mr.  Gary !  Goodness  Father, 
how  a  rid'th  !  he 's  over  wall  already  !  Eon,  Jack  !  ron 
then !  A'll  get  to  the  river !  No,  a  waint !  Goodness 
Father !  There's  Mr.  Gary  cotched  mun  !  A's  down, 
a's  down !" 

"Is  he  dead?"  asked  Eose,  shuddering. 

"  Iss,  fegs,  dead  as  nits  !  and  Mr,  Gary  ofl*  his  horse, 


190  THE  COOMBES  OF 

standing  overthwart  mun !  No,  a  baint !  A's  up  now. 
Suspose  he  was  hit  wi'  the  flat.  Whatever  is  Mr. 
Gary  tu?  Telling  wi'  mun,  a  bit.  O  dear,  dear, 
dear!" 

"Has  he  killed  him?"  cried  poor  Rose. 

"  No,  fegs,  no  !  kecking  mun,  kecking  mun,  so  hard 
as  ever  was  futeball !  Goodness  Father,  who  did  ever  1 
If  a  haven't  kecked  mun  right  into  river,  and  got  on 
mun's  horse  and  rod  away  !" 

And  so  saying,  down  she  came  again. 

"  And  now  then,  my  dear  life,  us  be  better  to  goo 
hoom  and  get  you  sommat  warm.  You'm  mortal  cold, 
I  rackon,  by  now.  I  was  cruel  fear'd  for  ye :  but  I 
kept  mun  off  clever,  didn't  I,  now*?" 

"I  wish — I  wish  I  had  not  seen  Mr.  Leigh's  face  1" 

"  Iss,  dreadful,  weren't  it,  poor  young  soul ;  a  sad 
night  for  his  poor  mother  ! " 

"  Lucy,  I  can't  get  his  face  out  of  my  mind.  I'm 
sure  he  overlooked  me." 

"  0  then  !  who  ever  heard  the  like  o'  that  1  When 
young  gentlemen  do  overlook  young  ladies,  tain't 
thikketheor  aways,  I  knoo.     Never  you  think  on  it." 

"But  I  can't  help  thinking  of  it,"  said  Rose. 
"Stop.  Shall  we  go  home  yet?  Where's  that  ser- 
vant?" 

"  Never  mind,  he  waint  see  us,  here  under  the  hill. 
I'd  much  sooner  to  know  where  my  old  man  was. 
I've  a  sort  of  a  forecasting  in  my  inwards,  like,  as  I 
always  has  when  aught's  gwain  to  happen,  as  though 
I  shuldn't  zee  mun  again,  like,  I  have,  Miss.  Well — 
he  was  a  bedient  old  soul,  after  all,  he  was*     Goodness, 


THE  FAK  WEST.  191 

Father!  and  all  this  while  us  have  forgot  the  very 
thing  us  come  about !     Who  did  you  see  f 

"Only  that  face  !"  said  Rose,  shuddering. 

"Not  in  the  glass,  maid"?  Say  then,  not  in  the 
glass?" 

"  Would  to  heaven  it  had  been  !  Lucy,  what  if  he 
were  the  man  I  was  fated  to " 

"He?  Why  he's  a  praste,  a  Popish  praste,  that 
can't  marry  if  he  would,  poor  wratch." 

"He  is  none ;  and  I  have  cause  enough  to  know 
it ! "  And,  for  want  of  a  better  confidant,  Rose  poured 
into  the  willing  ears  of  her  companion  the  whole  story 
of  yesterday's  meeting. 

"He's  a  pretty  wooer!"  said  Lucy  at  last,  con- 
temptuously. "Be  a  brave  maid,  then,  be  a  brave 
maid,  and  never  terrify  yourself  with  his  unlucky  face. 
It's  because  there  was  none  here  worthy  of  ye,  that 
ye  seed  none  in  glass.  Maybe  he's  to  be  a  foreigner, 
from  over  seas,  and  that's  why  his  sperit  was  so  long 
a  coming.  A  duke,  or  a  prince  to  the  least,  I'll  war- 
rant, he'll  be,  that  carries  off  the  Rose  of  Bideford." 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  good  dame's  flattery.  Rose 
could  not  wipe  that  fierce  face  away  from  her  eyeballs. 
She  reached  home  safely,  and  crept  to  bed  undis- 
covered :  and  when  the  next  morning,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  found  her  laid  up  with  something  very  like 
a  fever,  from  excitement,  terror,  and  cold,  the  phantom 
grew  stronger  and  stronger  before  her,  and  it  required 
all  her  woman's  tact  and  self-restraint  to  avoid  be- 
traying by  her  exclamations  what  had  happened  on 


192  THE  COOMBES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST. 

that  fantastic  night.  After  a  fortnight's  weakness, 
however,  she  recovered  and  went  back  to  Bideford : 
but  ere  she  arrived  there,  Amyas  was  far  across  the 
seas  on  his  way  to  Milford  Haven,  as  shall  be  told  in 
the  ensuing  chapters. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY  OP  MR.  JOHN 
OXENHAM  OF  PLYMOUTH. 

**  The  fair  breeze  blew,  the  white  foam  flew ; 
The  furrow  foUow'd  free  ; 
"We  were  the  first  that  ever  burst 
Into  that  silent  sea." 

The  Ancient  Mariner. 

It  was  too  late  and  too  dark  last  night  to  see  the  old 
house  at  Stow.  We  will  look  round  us,  then,  this 
bright  October  day,  while  Sir  Richard  and  Amyas, 
about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  are  pacing  up 
and  down  the  terraced  garden  to  the  south.  Amyas 
has  slept  till  luncheon,  ie.  till  an  hour  ago :  but  Sir 
Richard,  in  spite  of  the  bustle  of  last  night,  was  up 
and  in  the  valley  by  six  o'clock,  recreating  the  vahant 
souls  of  himself  and  two  terrier  dogs  by  the  chase  of 
sundry  badgers. 

Old  Stow  House  stands,  or  rather  stood,  some  four 
miles  beyond  the  Cornish  border,  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  largest  and  loveliest  of  those  coombes  of 
which  I  spoke  in  the  last  chapter.  Eighty  years  after 
Sir  Richard's  time,  there  arose  there  a  huge  Palladian 
pile,  bedizened  with  every  monstrosity  of  bad  taste, 
which  was  built,  so  the  story  runs,  by  Charles  the 
VOL.  I.  o  w  H 


194  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

Second,  for  Sir  Eichard's  great  grandson,  the  heir  of 
that  famous  Sir  Bevil  who  defeated  the  Parliamentary 
troops  at  Stratton,  and  died  soon  after,  fighting  vali- 
antly at  Lansdowne  over  Bath.  But,  like  most  other 
things  which  owed  their  existence  to  the  Stuarts,  it 
rose  only  to  fall  again.  An  old  man  who  had  seen,  as 
a  boy,  the  foundation  of  the  new  house  laid,  lived  to 
see  it  pulled  down  again,  and  the  very  bricks  and 
timber  sold  upon  the  spot ;  and  since  then  the  stables 
have  become  a  farm-house,  the  tennis  court  a  sheep- 
cote,  the  great  quadrangle  a  rick-yard ;  and  civilisation, 
spreading  wave  on  wave  so  fa^t  elsewhere,  has  surged 
back  from  that  lonely  corner  of  the  land — let  us  hope, 
only  for  a  while. 

But  I  am  not  writing  of  that  great  new  Stow 
House,  of  the  past  glories  whereof  quaint  pictures  still 
hang  in  the  neighbouring  houses  ;  nor  of  that  famed 
Sir  Bevil,  most  beautiful  and  gallant  of  his  generation, 
on  whom,  with  his  grandfather  Sir  Eichard,  old  Prince 
has  his  pompous  epigram — 

"  Where  next  shall  famous  Grenvil's  ashes  stand  ? 
Thy  grandsire  fills  the  sea,  and  thou  the  land." 

I  have  to  deal  with  a  simpler  age,  and  a  sterner 

generation ;  and  with  the  old  house,  which  had  stood 

there,  in  part  at  least,  from  grey  and  mythic  ages, 

when  the  first  Sir  Eichard,  son  of  Hamon  Dentatus, 

Lord  of  Carboyle,  the  grandson  of  Duke  Eobert,  son 

of  Eou,  settled  at  Bideford,  after  slaying  the  Prince 

of  South-Galis,  and  the  Lord  of  Glamorgan,  and  gave 

to  the  Cistercian  monks  of  Neath  all  his  conquests  in 

South  Wales.     It  was  a  huge  rambHng  building,  half 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  195 

castle,  haK  dwelling-house,  such  as  may  be  seen  still 
(almost  an  unique  specimen)  in  Compton  Castle  near 
Torquay,  the  dwelling-place  of  Humphrey  Gilbert, 
Walter  Ealeigh's  half-brother,  and  Eichard  Grenvile's 
bosom  friend,  of  whom  more  hereafter.  On  three 
sides,  to  the  north,  west,  and  south,  the  lofty  walls  of 
the  old  ballium  still  stood,  with  their  machicolated 
turrets,  loopholes,  and  dark  downward  crannies  for 
dropping  stones  and  fire  on  the  besiegers,  the  relics  of 
a  more  unsettled  age  :  but  the  southern  court  of  the 
ballium  had  become  a  flower-garden,  with  quaint  ter- 
races, statues,  knots  of  flowers,  clipped  yews  and 
hollies,  and  all  the  pedantries  of  the  topiarian  art. 
And  toward  the  east,  where  the  vista  of  the  valley 
opened,  the  old  walls  were  gone,  and  the  frowning 
Norman  keep,  ruined  in  the  wars  of  the  Koses,  had 
been  replaced  by  the  rich  and  stately  architecture  of 
the  Tudors.  Altogether,  the  house,  like  the  time, 
was  in  a  transitionary  state,  and  represented  faithfully 
enough  the  passage  of  the  old  middle  age  into  the 
new  life  which  had  just  burst  into  blossom  throughout 
Europe,  never,  let  us  pray,  to  see  its  autumn  or  its 
winter. 

From  the  house  on  three  sides,  the  hill  sloped 
steeply  down,  and  the  garden  where  Sir  Richard  and 
Amyas  were  walking  gave  a  truly  English  prospect. 
At  one  turn  they  could  catch,  over  the  western  walls, 
a  glimpse  of  the  blue  ocean  flecked  with  passing  sails ; 
and  at  the  next,  spread  far  below  them,  range  on 
range  of  fertile  park,  stately  avenue,  yellow  autumn 
woodland,   and  purple   heather  moors,  lapping  over 


196  TEUE  AND  TEAGICAL  HISTORY 

and  over  each  other  up  the  valley  to  the  old  British 
earthwork,  which  stood  black  and  furze-grown  on  its 
conical  peak ;  and  standing  out  against  the  sky  on  the 
highest  bank  of  hill  which  closed  the  valley  to  the 
east,  the  lofty  tower  of  Kilkhampton  church,  rich 
with  the  monuments  and  offerings  of  five  centuries  of 
Grenviles.  A  yellow  eastern  haze  hung  soft  over 
park,  and  wood,  and  moor ;  the  red  cattle  lowed  to 
each  other  as  they  stood  brushing  away  the  flies  in 
the  rivulet  far  below;  the  colts  in  the  horse-park 
close  on  their  right  whinnied  as  they  played  together, 
and  their  sires  from  the  Queen's  park,  on  the  opposite 
hill,  answered  them  in  fuller  though  fainter  voices. 
A  rutting  stag  made  the  still  woodland  rattle  with 
his  hoarse  thunder,  and  a  rival  far  up  the  valley  gave 
back  a  trumpet  note  of  defiance,  and  was  himself 
defied  from  heathery  brows  which  quivered  far  away 
above,  half  seen  through  the  veil  of  eastern  mist. 
And  close  at  home,  upon  the  terrace  before  the  house, 
amid  romping  spaniels  and  golden-haired  children, 
sat  Lady  Grenvile  herself,  the  beautiful  St.  Leger  of 
Annery,  the  central  jewel  of  all  that  glorious  place, 
and  looked  down  at  her  noble  children,  and  then  up 
at  her  more  noble  husband,  and  round  at  that  broad 
paradise  of  the  west,  till  life  seemed  too  full  of  happi- 
ness, and  heaven  of  light. 

And  all  the  while  up  and  down  paced  Amyas  and 
Sir  Eichard,  talking  long,  earnestly,  and  slow;  for 
they  both  knew  that  the  turning  point  of  the  boy's 
life  was  come. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sir  Eichard,  after  Amyas,  in  his  blunt 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  197 

simple  way,  had  told  him  the  whole  story  about  Rose 
Salterne  and  his  brother, — "yes,  sweet  lad,  thou  hast 
chosen  the  better  part,  thou  and  thy  brother  also,  and 
it  shall  not  be  taken  from  you.  Only  be  strong,  lad, 
and  trust  in  God  that  He  will  make  a  man  of  you." 

"I  do  trust,"  said  Amyas. 

"Thank  God,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "that  you  have 
yourself  taken  from  my  heart  that  which  was  my 
great  anxiety  for  you,  from  the  day  that  your  good 
father,  who  sleeps  in  peace,  committed  you  to  my 
hands.  For  all  best  things,  Amyas,  become,  when 
misused,  the  very  worst;  and  the  love  of  woman, 
because  it  is  able  to  lift  man's  soul  to  the  heavens,  is 
also  able  to  drag  him  down  to  hell.  But  you  have 
learnt  better,  Amyas ;  and  know,  with  our  old  German 
forefathers,  that  as  Tacitus  saith,  *Sera  juvenum 
Venus,  ideoque  inexhausta  pubertas.'  And  not  only 
that  Amyas ;  but  trust  me,  that  silly  fashion  of  the 
French  and  Italians,  to  be  hanging  ever  at  some 
woman's  apron  string,  so  that  no  boy  shall  count 
himself  a  man  unless  he  can  '  vagghezziare  le  donne,' 
whether  maids  or  wives,  alas !  matters  little ;  that 
fashion,  I  say,  is  little  less  hurtful  to  the  soul  than 
open  sin  ;  for  by  it  are  bred  vanity  and  expense,  envy 
and  heartburning,  yea,  hatred  and  murder  often ;  and 
cv^en  if  that  be  escaped,  yet  the  rich  treasure  of  a 
manly  worship,  which  should  be  kept  for  one  alone, 
is  squandered  and  parted  upon  many,  and  the  bride 
at  last  comes  in  for  nothing  but  the  very  last  leavings 
and  caput  mortuum  of  her  bridegroom's  heart,  and 
becomes  a  mere  ornament  for  his  table,  and  a  means 


198  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

whereby  he  may  obtain  a  progeny.  May  God,  who 
has  saved  me  from  that  death  in  life,  save  you  also  !" 
And  as  he  spoke,  he  looked  down  toward  his  wife 
upon  the  terrace  below;  and  she,  as  if  guessing 
instinctively  that  he  was  talking  of  her,  looked  up 
with  so  sweet  a  smile,  that  Sir  Richard's  stern  face 
melted  into  a  very  glory  of  spiritual  sunshine. 

Amyas  looked  at  them  both  and  sighed ;  and  then 
turning  the  conversation  suddenly — 

"And  I  may  go  to  Ireland  to-morrow f' 

"  You  shall  sail  in  the  '  Mary '  for  Milford  Haven, 
with  these  letters  to  Winter.  If  the  wind  serves,  you 
may  bid  the  master  drop  down  the  river  to-night,  and 
be  off;  for  we  must  lose  no  time." 

"  Winter  f  said  Amyas.  "  He  is  no  friend  of  mine, 
since  he  left  Drake  and  us  so  cowardly  at  the  Straits 
of  Magellan." 

"Duty  must  not  wait  for  private  quarrels,  even 
though  they  be  just  ones,  lad:  but  he  will  not  be 
your  general.  When  you  come  to  the  Marshal,  or  the 
Lord  Deputy,  give  either  of  them  this  letter,  and  they 
will  set  you  work, — and  hard  work  too,  I  warrant." 

"I  want  nothing  better." 

"  Right,  lad ;  the  best  reward  for  having  wrought 
well  already,  is  to  have  more  to  do ;  and  he  that  has 
been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  must  find  his  account 
in  being  made  ruler  over  many  things.  That  is  the 
true  and  heroical  rest,  which  only  is  worthy  of  gentle- 
men and  sons  of  God.  As  for  those  who,  either  in 
this  world  or  the  world  to  come,  look  for  idleness, 
and  hope  that  God  shall  feed  them  with  pleasant 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  199 

things,  as  it  were  with  a  spoon,  Amyas,  I  count  them 
cowards  and  base,  even  though  they  call  themselves 
saints  and  elect." 

"I  wish  you  could  persuade  my  poor  cousin  of 
that." 

"He  has  yet  to  learn  what  losing  his  life  to  save 
it  means,  Amyas.  Bad  men  have  taught  him  (and  I 
fear  these  Anabaptists  and  Puritans  at  home  teach  little 
else),  that  it  is  the  one  great  business  of  every  one  to 
save  his  own  soul  after  he  dies,  every  one  for  himself ; 
and  that  that,  and  not  divine  self-sacrifice,  is  the  one 
thing  needful,  and  the  better  part  which  Mary  chose." 

"I  think  men  are  inclined  enough  already  to  be 
selfish,  without  being  taught  that." 

"Right,  lad.  For  me,  if  I  could  hang  up  such  a 
teacher  on  high  as  an  enemy  of  mankind,  and  a  cor- 
rupter of  youth,  I  would  do  it  gladly.  Is  there  not 
cowardice  and  self-seeking  enough  about  the  hearts  of 
us  fallen  sons  of  Adam,  that  these  false  prophets,  with 
their  baits  of  heaven,  and  their  terrors  of  hell,  must 
exalt  our  dirtiest  vices  into  heavenly  virtues  and  the 
means  of  bliss  1  Farewell  to  chivalry  and  to  desperate 
valour,  farewell  to  patriotism  and  loyalty,  farewell  to 
England  and  to  the  manhood  of  England,  if  once  it 
shall  become  the  fashion  of  our  preachers  to  bid  every 
man,  as  the  Jesuits  do,  take  care  first  of  what  they 
call  the  safety  of  his  soul.  Every  man  will  be  afraid 
to  die  at  his  post,  because  he  will  be  afraid  that  he  is 
not  fit  to  die  Amyas,  do  thou  do  thy  duty  like  a 
man,  to  thy  country,  thy  queen,  and  thy  God;  and 
count  thy  life  a  worthless  thing,  as  did  the  holy  men 


200  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

of  old.  Do  thy  work,  lad ;  and  leave  thy  soul  to  the 
care  of  Him  who  is  just  and  merciful  in  this,  that  He 
rewards  every  man  according  to  his  work.  Is  there 
respect  of  persons  with  God  1  Now  come  in,  and  take 
the  letters,  and  to  horse.  And  if  I  hear  of  thee  dead 
there  at  Smerwdck  fort,  with  all  thy  wounds  in  front, 
I  shall  weep  for  thy  mother,  lad :  but  I  shall  have 
never  a  sigh  for  thee." 

If  any  one  shall  be  startled  at  hearing  a  fine  gentle- 
man and  a  warrior  like  Sir  Eichard  quote  Scripture, 
and  think  Scripture  also,  they  must  be  referred  to  the 
writings  of  the  time ;  which  they  may  read  not  with- 
out profit  to  themselves,  if  they  discover  therefrom 
how  it  was  possible  then  for  men  of  the  world  to  be 
thoroughly  ingrained  with  the  Gospel,  and  yet  to  be 
free  from  any  taint  of  superstitious  fear,  or  false 
devoutness.  The  religion  of  those  days  was  such  as 
no  soldier  need  have  been  ashamed  of  confessing.  At 
least.  Sir  Eichard  died  as  he  lived,  without  a  shudder, 
and  without  a  whine  ;  and  these  were  his  last  words, 
fifteen  years  after  that,  as  he  lay  shot  through  and 
through,  a  captive  among  popish  Spaniards,  priests, 
crucifixes,  confession,  extreme  unction,  and  all  other 
means  and  appliances  for  delivering  men  out  of  the 
hands  of  a  God  of  love  : — 

"  Here  die  I,  Eichard  Grenvile,  with  a  joyful  and 
quiet  mind ;  for  that  I  have  ended  my  life  as  a  true 
soldier  ought,  fighting  for  his  country,  queen,  religion, 
and  honour :  my  soul  willingly  departing  from  this  body, 
leaving  behind  the  lasting  fame  of  having  behaved  as 
every  valiant  soldier  is  in  his  duty  bound  to  do." 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  201 

Those  were  the  last  words  of  Eichard  Grenvile. 
The  pulpits  of  those  days  had  taught  them  to  him. 

But  to  return.  That  day's  events  were  not  over 
yet.  For,  when  they  went  down  into  the  house,  the 
first  person  whom  they  met  was  the  old  steward,  in 
search  of  his  master. 

"  There  is  a  manner  of  roog,  Sir  Richard,  a  master- 
less  man,  at  the  door;  a  very  forward  fellow,  and 
must  needs  speak  with  you." 

"  A  masterless  man  ?  He  had  better  not  to  speak 
to  me,  unless  he  is  in  love  with  gaol  and  gallows." 

"Well,  your  worship,"  said  the  steward,  "I  expect 
that  is  what  he  does  want,  for  he  swears  he  will  not 
leave  the  gate  till  he  has  seen  you." 

"  Seen  me  1  Halidame !  he  shall  see  me,  here  and 
at  Launceston  too,  if  he  likes.     Bring  him  in." 

"Fegs,  Sir  Richard,  we  are  half  afeard,  with  your 
good  leave " 

*'  Hillo,  Tony,"  cried  Amyas,  "  who  was  ever  afeard 
yet  with  Sir  Richard's  good  leave?" 

"  What,  has  the  fellow  a  tail  or  horns?" 

"  Massy  no :  but  I  be  afeard  of  treason  for  your 
honour ;  for  the  fellow  is  pinked  all  over  in  heathen 
patterns,  and  as  brown  as  a  filbert ;  and  a  tall  roog,  a 
very  strong  roog,  sir,  and  a  foreigner  too,  and  a 
mighty  staff  with  him.  I  expect  him  to  be  a  manner 
of  Jesuit,  or  wild  Irish,  sir ;  and  indeed  the  grooms 
have  no  stomach  to  handle  him,  nor  the  dogs  neither, 
or  he  had  been  under  the  pump  before  now,  for  they 
that  saw  him  coming  up  the  hill  swear  that  he  had 
fire  coming  out  of  his  mouth." 


202  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

" Fire  out  of  his  mouth  ?"  said  Sir  Eichard.  "  The 
men  are  drunk." 

"Pinked  all  over?  He  must  be  a  sailor,"  said 
Amyas;  "let  me  out  and  see  the  fellow,  and  if  he 
needs  putting  forth " 

"  Why,  I  dare  say  he  is  not  so  big  but  what  he  will 
go  into  thy  pocket.  So  go,  lad,  while  I  finish  my 
writing." 

Amyas  went  out,  and  at  the  back  door,  leaning  on 
his  staff,  stood  a  tall,  raw-boned,  ragged  man,  "  pinked 
all  over,"  as  the  steward  had  said. 

"Hillo,  lad  !"  quoth  Amyas.  "Before  we  come  to 
talk,  thou  wilt  please  to  lay  down  that  Plymouth  cloak 
of  thine."  And  he  pointed  to  the  cudgel,  which  among 
west-country  mariners  usually  bore  that  name. 

"I'll  warrant,"  said  the  old  steward,  "that  where 
he  found  his  cloak  he  found  a  purse  not  far  off." 

"  But  not  hose  or  doublet ;  so  the  magical  virtue  of 
his  staff  has  not  helped  him  much.  But  put  down  thy 
staff,  man,  and  speak  like  a  Christian,  if  thou  be  one." 

"  I  am  a  Christian,  though  I  look  like  a  heathen ; 
and  no  rogue,  though  a  masterless  man,  alas  !  But  I 
want  nothing,  deserving  nothing,  and  only  ask  to  speak 
with  Sir  Eichard,  before  I  go  on  my  way." 

There  was  something  stately  and  yet  humble  about 
the  man's  tone  and  manner  which  attracted  Amyas, 
and  he  asked  more  gently  where  he  was  going  and 
whence  he  came. 

"  From  Padstow  Port,  sir,  to  Clovelly  town,  to  see 
my  old  mother,  if  indeed  she  be  yet  alive,  which  God 
knoweth." 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  203 

"  Clovally  man !  why  didn't  thee  say  thee  was 
Clovally  man  f  asked  all  the  grooms  at  once,  to  whom 
a  west  countryman  was  of  course  a  brother.  The  old 
steward  asked, — 

"What's  thy  mother's  name,  thenf 

"Susan  Yeo." 

"What,  that  lived  under  the  archway?"  asked  a 
groom. 

"Lived?"  said  the  man. 

"  Iss,  sure ;  her  died  three  days  since,  so  we  heard, 
poor  soul." 

The  man  stood  quite  silent  and  unmoved  for  a 
minute  or  two ;  and  then  said  quietly  to  himself,  in 
Spanish,  "That  which  is,  is  best." 

"You  speak  Spanish?"  asked  Amyas  more  and 
more  interested. 

"I  had  need  to  do  so,  young  sir;  I  have  been  five 
years  in  the  Spanish  main,  and  only  set  foot  on  shore 
two  days  ago ;  and  if  you  will  let  me  have  speech  of 
Sir  Eichard,  I  will  tell  him  that  at  which  both  the  ears 
of  him  that  heareth  it  shall  tingle ;  and  if  not,  I  can 
but  go  on  to  Mr.  Gary  of  Clovelly,  if  he  be  yet  alive, 
and  there  disburthen  my  soul;  but  I  would  sooner 
have  spoken  with  one  that  is  a  mariner  like  to  myself." 

"  And  you  shall,"  said  Amyas.  "  Steward,  we  will 
have  this  man  in ;  for  all  his  rags,  he  is  a  man  of  wit." 
And  he  led  him  in. 

"  I  only  hope  he  ben't  one  of  those  popish  mur- 
derers," said  the  old  steward,  keeping  at  a  safe  distance 
from  him,  as  they  entered  the  hall. 

"Popish,  old  master?    There's  little  fear  of  my 


204  TEUE  AND  THAGICAL  HISTORY 

being  that.  Look  here  ! "  And  drawing  back  his  rags, 
he  showed  a  ghastly  scar,  which  encircled  his  wrist  and 
wound  round  and  up  his  fore-arm. 

"I  got  that  on  the  rack,"  said  he  quietly,  "in  the 
Inquisition  at  Lima." 

"  0  Father !  Father !  why  didn't  you  tell  us  that 
you  were  a  poor  Christian  f  asked  the  penitent  steward. 

"Because  I  have  had  nought  but  my  deserts; 
and  but  a  taste  of  them  either,  as  the  Lord  knoweth 
who  delivered  me;  and  I  wasn't  going  to  make  myself 
a  beggar  and  a  show  on  their  account." 

"By  heaven,  you  are  a  brave  fellow !"  said  Amyas. 
"Come  along  straight  to  Sir  Eichard's  room." 

So  in  they  went,  where  Sir  Eichard  sat  in  his 
library  among  books,  despatches,  state-papers,  and 
warrants ;  for  though  he  was  not  yet,  as  in  after  times 
(after  the  fashion  of  those  days),  admiral,  general, 
member  of  parliament,  privy  councillor,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  so  forth,  all  at  once,  yet  there  were  few 
great  men  with  whom  he  did  not  correspond,  or  great 
matters  with  which  he  was  not  cognisant. 

"Hillo,  Amyas,  have  you  bound  the  wild  man 
already,  and  brought  him  in  to  swear  allegiance  V 

But  before  Amyas  could  answer,  the  man  looked 
earnestly  on  him — "Amyas  1"  said  he;  "is  that  your 
name,  sirf 

"  Amyas  Leigh  is  my  name,  at  your  service,  good 
fellow." 

"Of  Borrough  by  Bidefordf 

"  Why  then  1     What  do  you  know  of  me  f 

"  Oh  sir,  sir !  young  brains  and  happy  ones  have 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  205 

short  memories ;  but  old  and  sad  brains  too  too  long 
ones,  often  !  Do  you  mind  one  that  was  with  Mr. 
Oxenham,  sir  1  a  swearing  reprobate  he  was,  God  for- 
give him,  and  hath  forgiven  him  too,  for  his  dear  Son's 
sake — one,  sir,  that  gave  you  a  horn,  a  toy  with  a 
chart  on  it  f 

"  Soul  aHve ! "  cried  Amyas,  catching  him  by  the 
hand ;  "  and  are  you  he  ?  The  horn  1  why,  I  have  it 
still,  and  will  keep  it  to  my  dying  day  too.  But  where 
is  Mr.  Oxenham  f 

"Yes,  my  good  fellow,  where  is  Mr.  Oxenham?" 
asked  Sir  Richard,  rising.  "  You  are  somewhat  over- 
hasty  in  welcoming  your  old  acquaintance,  Amyas, 
before  we  have  heard  from  him  whether  he  can  give 
honest  account  of  himself  and  of  his  Captain.  For 
there  is  more  than  one  way  by  which  sailors  may 
come  home  without  their  captains,  as  poor  Mr.  Barker 
of  Bristol  found  to  his  cost.  God  grant  that  there 
may  have  been  no  such  traitorous  dealing  here." 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  if  I  had  been  a  guilty  man 
to  my  noble  captain,  as  I  have  to  God,  I  had  not 
come  here  this  day  to  you,  from  whom  villany  has 
never  found  favour,  nor  ever  will ;  for  I  know  your 
conditions  well,  sir ;  and  trust  in  the  Lord,  that  if  you 
will  be  pleased  to  hear  me,  you  shall  know  mine." 

"Thou  art  a  well-spoken  knave.     We  shall  see." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Amyas  in  a  whisper,  "  I  will 
warrant  this  man  guiltless." 

"  I  verily  believe  him  to  be ;  but  this  is  too  serious 
a  matter  to  be  left  on  guess.    If  he  will  be  sworn " 

Whereon  the  man,  humbly  enough,  said,  that  if  it 


206  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

would  please  Sir  Richard,  he  would  rather  not  be 
sworn, 

"  But  it  does  not  please  me,  rascal !  Did  I  not 
warn  thee,  Amyas?" 

"  Sir,"  said  the  man  proudly,  "  God  forbid  that  my 
word  should  not  be  as  good  as  my  oath:  but  it  is 
against  my  conscience  to  be  sworn." 

"  What  have  we  here  'i  some  fantastical  Anabaptist, 
who  is  wiser  than  his  teachers  f 

"  My  conscience,  sir " 

"  The  devil  take  it  and  thee !  I  never  heard  a  man 
yet  begin  to  prate  of  his  conscience,  but  I  knew  that 
he  was  about  to  do  something  more  than  ordinarily 
cruel  or  false." 

"Sir,"  said  the  man,  coolly  enough,  "do  you  sit 
here  to  judge  me  according  to  law,  and  yet  contrary 
to  the  law  swear  profane  oaths,  for  which  a  fine  is 
provided  f 

Amyas  expected  an  explosion:  but  Sir  Richard 
pulled  a  shilling  out  and  put  it  on  the  table.  "  There 
— my  fine  is  paid,  sirrah,  to  the  poor  of  Kilkhampton  : 
but  hearken  thou  all  the  same.  If  thou  wilt  not  speak 
on  oath,  thou  shalt  speak  on  compulsion;  for  to 
Launceston  gaol  thou  goest,  there  to  answer  for  Mr. 
Oxenham's  death,  on  suspicion  whereof,  and  of  mutiny 
causing  it,  I  will  attach  thee  and  every  soul  of  his 
crew  that  comes  home.  We  have  lost  too  many 
gallant  captains  of  late  by  treachery  of  their  crews, 
and  he  that  will  not  clear  himself  on  oath,  must  be 
held  for  guilty,  and  self-condemned." 

"  My  good  fellow,"  said  Amyas,  who  could  not  give 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  207 

up  his  belief  in  the  man's  honesty;  "why,  for  such 
fantastical  scruples,  peril  not  only  your  life,  but  your 
honour,  and  Mr.  Oxenham's  also  1  For  if  you  be  ex- 
amined by  question,  you  may  be  forced  by  torment  to 
say  that  which  is  not  true." 

"Little  fear  of  that,  young  sir  !"  answered  he  with 
a  grim  smile;  "I  have  had  too  much  of  the  rack 
already,  and  the  strappado  too,  to  care  much  what 
man  can  do  unto  me.  I  would  heartily  that  I  thought 
it  lawful  to  be  sworn :  but  not  so  thinking,  I  can  but 
submit  to  the  cruelty  of  man ;  though  I  did  expect 
more  merciful  things,  as  a  most  miserable  and  wrecked 
mariner,  at  the  hands  of  one  who  hath  himself  seen 
God's  ways  in  the  sea,  and  his  wonders  in  the  great 
deep.  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  if  you  will  hear  my  story, 
may  God  avenge  on  my  head  all  my  sins  from  my 
youth  up  until  now,  and  cut  me  off  from  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and,  if  it  were  possible,  from  the  number  of  his 
elect,  if  I  tell  you  one  whit  more  or  less  than  truth ; 
and  if  not,  I  commend  myself  into  the  hands  of  God." 

Sir  Richard  smiled.  "  Well,  thou  art  a  brave  ass, 
and  valiant,  though  an  ass  manifest.  Dost  thou  not 
see,  fellow,  how  thou  hast  sworn  a  ten-times  bigger 
oath  than  ever  I  should  have  asked  of  thee  1  But  this 
is  the  way  with  your  Anabaptists,  who  by  their  very 
hatred  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  show  of  how  much 
account  they  think  them,  and  then  bind  themselves 
out  of  their  own  fantastical  self-will  with  far  heavier 
burdens  than  ever  the  lawful  authorities  have  laid  on 
them  for  the  sake  of  the  commonweal.  But  what  do 
they  care  for  the  commonweal,  as  long  as  they  can 


208  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

save,  as  they  fancy,  each  man  his  own  dirty  soul  for 
himself?  However,  thou  art  sworn  now  with  a 
vengeance ;  go  on  with  thy  tale  :  and  first,  who  art 
thou,  and  whence  f' 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  the  man,  quite  unmoved  by  this 
last  explosion ;  "  my  name  is  Salvation  Yeo,  born  in 
Clovelly  Street,  in  the  year  1526,  where  my  father 
exercised  the  mystery  of  a  barber  surgeon,  and  a 
preacher  of  the  people  since  called  Anabaptists,  for 
which  I  return  humble  thanks  to  God." 

Sir  Richard, — Fie  !  thou  naughty  knave ;  return 
thanks  that  thy  father  was  an  ass "? 

Yeo. — Nay,  but  because  he  was  a  barber  surgeon ; 
for  I  myself  learnt  a  touch  of  that  trade,  and  thereby 
saved  my  life,  as  I  will  tell  presently.  And  I  do  think 
that  a  good  mariner  ought  to  have  all  knowledge  of 
carnal  and  worldly  cunning,  even  to  tailoring  and 
shoemaking,  that  he  may  be  able  to  turn  his  hand  to 
whatsoever  may  hap. 

Sir  Richard.- — Well  spoken,  fellow  :  but  let  us  have 
thy  text  without  thy  comments.     Forwards  ! 

Yeo. — Well,  sir.  I  was  bred  to  the  sea  from  my 
youth,  and  was  with  Captain  Hawkins  in  his  three 
voyages,  which  he  made  to  Guinea  for  negro  slaves, 
and  thence  to  the  West  Indies. 

Sir  Richard. — Then  thrice  thou  wentest  to  a  bad 
end,  though  Captain  Hawkins  be  my  good  friend ;  and 
the  last  time  to  a  bad  end  thou  camest. 

Yeo. — No  denying  that  last,  your  worship :  but  as 
for  the  former,  I  doubt : — about  the  unlawfulness  I 
mean ;  being  the  negroes  are  of  the  children  of  Ham, 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  209 

who  are  cursed  and  reprobate,  as  Scripture  declares, 
and  their  blackness  testifies,  being  Satan's  own  livery  ; 
among  whom  therefore  there  can  be  none  of  the  elect, 
wherefore  the  elect  are  not  required  to  treat  them  as 
brethren. 

Sir  Richard. — What  a  plague  of  a  pragmatical  sea- 
lawyer  have  we  here  ?  And  I  doubt  not,  thou  hypo- 
crite, that  though  thou  wilt  call  the  negroes'  black 
skin  Satan's  livery,  when  it  serves  thy  turn  to  steal 
them,  thou  wilt  find  out  sables  to  be  Heaven's  livery 
every  Sunday,  and  up  with  a  godly  howl  unless  a 
parson  shall  preach  in  a  black  gown  Geneva  fashion. 
Out  upon  thee  !  Go  on  with  thy  tale,  lest  thou  finish 
thy  sermon  at  Launceston  after  all. 

Yeo. — The  Lord's  people  were  always  a  reviled 
people  and  a  persecuted  people  :  but  I  will  go  forward, 
sir ;  for  Heaven  forbid  but  that  I  should  declare  what 
God  has  done  for  me.  For  till  lately,  from  my  youth 
up,  I  was  given  over  to  all  ^vretchlessness  and  unclean 
living,  and  was  by  nature  a  child  of  the  devil,  and  to 
every  good  work  reprobate,  even  as  others. 

Sir  Richard. — Hark  to  his  "  even  as  others  ! "  Thou 
new-whelped  Pharisee,  canst  not  confess  thine  own 
villanies  without  making  out  others  as  bad  as  thyself, 
and  so  thyself  no  worse  than  others  %  I  only  hope 
that  thou  hast  shown  none  of  thy  devil's  doings  to 
Mr.  Oxenham. 

Yeo. — On  the  word  of  a  Christian  man,  sir,  as  I 
said  before,  I  kept  true  faith  with  him,  and  would 
have  been  a  better  friend  to  him,  sir,  what  is  more, 
than  ever  he  was  to  himself. 

VOL.  I.  V  w.  H. 


210  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

Sir  Richard. — Alas  !  that  might  easily  be. 

Yeo. — I  think,  sir,  and  will  make  good  against  any 
man,  that  Mr.  Oxenham  was  a  noble  and  valiant 
gentleman;  true  of  his  word,  stout  of  his  sword, 
skilful  by  sea  and  land,  and  worthy  to  have  been 
Lord  High  Admiral  of  England  (saving  your  worship's 
presence),  but  that  through  two  great  sins,  wrath  and 
avarice,  he  was  cast  away  miserably  or  ever  his  soul 
was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Ah,  sir, 
he  was  a  Captain  worth  sailing  under!  And  Yeo 
heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

Sir  Ricliard. — Steady,  steady,  good  fellow  !  If  thou 
wouldst  quit  preaching,  thou  art  no  fool  after  all. 
But  tell  us  the  story  without  more  bush-beating. 

So  at  last  Yeo  settled  himself  to  his  tale  : — 

"Well,  sirs,  I  went,  as  Mr.  Leigh  knows,  to 
Nombre  de  Dios,  with  Mr.  Drake  and  Mr.  Oxenham, 
in  1572,  where  what  we  saw  and  did,  your  worship, 
I  suppose,  knows  as  well  as  I;  and  there  was,  as 
you've  heard  may  be,  a  covenant  between  Mr. 
Oxenham  and  Mr.  Drake  to  sail  the  South  Seas 
together,  which  they  made,  your  worship,  in  my 
hearing,  under  the  tree  over  Panama.  For  when 
Mr.  Drake  came  down  from  the  tree,  after  seeing 
the  sea  afar  off,  Mr.  Oxenham  and  I  went  up  and 
saw  it  too ;  and  when  we  came  down,  Drake  says, 
'  John,  I  have  made  a  vow  to  God  that  I  will  sail 
that  water,  if  I  live  and  God  gives  me  grace ;'  which 
he  had  done,  sir,  upon  his  bended  knees,  like  a  godly 
man  as  he  always  was,  and  would  I  had  taken  after 
him !  and  Mr.  0.  says,   *  I  am  with  you,  Drake,  to 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  211 

live  or  die,  and  I  think  I  know  some  one  there  already, 
so  we  shall  not  be  quite  among  strangers ;'  and  laughed 
withal.  Well,  sirs,  that  voyage,  as  you  know,  never 
came  off,  because  Captain  Drake  was  fighting  in 
Ireland ;  so  Mr.  Oxenham,  who  must  be  up  and  doing, 
sailed  for  himself,  and  I  who  loved  him,  God  knows, 
like  a  brother  (saving  the  difference  in  our  ranks), 
helped  him  to  get  the  crew  together,  and  went  as  his 
gunner.  That  was  in  1575  ;  as  you  know,  he  had  a 
140-ton  ship,  sir,  and  seventy  men  out  of  Plymouth 
and  Fowey  and  Dartmouth,  and  many  of  them  old 
hands  of  Drake's,  beside  a  dozen  or  so  from  Bideford 
that  I  picked  up  when  I  saw  young  Master  here." 

*'  Thank  God  that  you  did  not  pick  me  up  too." 

"Amen,  amen!"  said  Yeo,  clasping  his  hands  on 
his  breast.  "  Those  seventy  men,  sir, — seventy  gallant 
men,  sir,  with  every  one  of  them  an  immortal  soul 
within  him, — where  are  they  now  ?  Gone,  like  the 
spray ! "  And  he  swept  his  hands  abroad  with  a  wild  and 
solemn  gesture.    "  And  their  blood  is  upon  my  head  !" 

Both  Sir  Richard  and  Amyas  began  to  suspect  that 
the  man's  brain  was  not  altogether  sound. 

"God  forbid,  my  man,"  said  the  Knight,  kindly. 

"Thirteen  men  I  persuaded  to  join  in  Bideford 
town,  beside  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my 
good  comrade.  And  what  if  it  be  said  to  me  at  the 
day  of  judgment,  *  Salvation  Yeo,  where  are  those 
fourteen  whom  thou  didst  tempt  to  their  deaths  by 
covetousness  and  lust  of  gold  V  Not  that  I  was  alone 
in  my  sin,  if  the  truth  must  be  told.  For  all  the  way 
out  Mr.  Oxenham  was  making  loud  speech,  after  his 


212  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

pleasant  way,  that  he  would  make  all  their  fortunes, 
and  take  them  to  such  a  Paradise,  that  they  should 
have  no  lust  to  come  home  again.  And  I — God 
knows  why — for  every  one  boast  of  his  would  make 
two,  even  to  lying  and  empty  fables,  and  anything 
to  keep  up  the  men's  hearts.  For  I  had  really  per- 
suaded myself  that  we  should  all  find  treasures  beyond 
Solomon  his  temple,  and  Mr.  Oxenham  would  surely 
show  us  how  to  conquer  some  golden  city,  or  discover 
some  island  all  made  of  precious  stones.  And  one 
day,  as  the  Captain  and  I  were  talking  after  our 
fashion,  I  said,  'And  you  shall  be  our  king.  Captain.' 
To  which  he,  '  If  I  be,  I  shall  not  be  long  without  a 
queen,  and  that  no  Indian  one  either.'  And  after 
that  he  often  jested  about  the  Spanish  ladies,  saying 
that  none  could  show  us  the  way  to  their  hearts  better 
than  he.  Which  speeches  I  took  no  account  of  then, 
sirs :  but  after  I  minded  them,  whether  I  would  or 
not.  Well,  sirs,  we  came  to  the  shore  of  New  Spain, 
near  to  the  old  place — that's  Nombre  de  Dios ;  and 
there  Mr.  Oxenham  went  ashore  into  the  woods  with 
a  boat's  crew,  to  find  the  negroes  who  helped  us  three 
years  before.  Those  are  the  Cimaroons,  gentles,  negro 
slaves  who  have  fled  from  those  devils  incarnate,  their 
Spanish  masters,  and  live  wild,  like  the  beasts  that 
perish ;  men  of  great  stature,  sirs,  and  fierce  as  wolves 
in  the  onslaught,  but  poor  jabbering  mazed  fellows  if 
they  be  but  a  bit  dismayed ;  and  have  many  Indian 
women  with  them,  who  take  to  these  negroes  a  deal 
better  than  to  their  own  kin,  which  breeds  war  enough, 
as  you  may  guess. 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  213 

"Well,  sirs,  after  three  days  the  Captain  comes 
back,  looking  heavy  enough,  and  says,  'We  played 
our  trick  once  too  often,  when  we  played  it  once. 
There  is  no  chance  of  stopping  another  re^o  (that  is,  a 
mule-train,  sirs)  now.  The  Cimaroons  say  that  since 
our  last  visit  they  never  move  without  plenty  of 
soldiers,  two  hundred  shot  at  least.  Therefore,'  he 
said,  'my  gallants,  we  must  either  return  empty- 
handed  from  this,  the  very  market  and  treasury  of 
the  whole  Indies,  or  do  such  a  deed  as  men  never  did 
before,  which  I  shall  like  all  the  better  for  that  very 
reason.'  And  we,  asking  his  meaning,  'Why,'  he  said, 
if  Drake  will  not  sail  the  South  Seas,  we  will;'  add- 
ing profanely  that  Drake  was  like  Moses,  who  beheld 
the  promised  land  afar;  but  he  was  Joshua,  who 
would  enter  into  it,  and  smite  the  inhabitants  thereof. 
And,  for  our  confirmation,  showed  me  and  the  rest 
the  superscription  of  a  letter  :  and  said,  '  How  I  came 
by  this  is  none  of  your  business :  but  I  have  had  it  in 
my  bosom  ever  since  I  left  Plymouth ;  and  I  tell  you 
now,  what  I  forebore  to  tell  you  at  first,  that  the 
South  Seas  have  been  my  mark  all  along  !  such  news 
have  I  herein  of  plate-ships,  and  gold-ships,  and  what 
not,  which  will  come  up  from  Quito  and  Lima  this 
very  month,  all  which,  with  the  pearls  of  the  Gulf  of 
Panama,  and  other  wealth  unspeakable,  will  be  ours, 
if  we  have  but  true  English  hearts  within  us.' 

"  At  which,  gentles,  we  were  like  madmen  for  lust 
of  that  gold,  and  cheerfully  undertook  a  toil  incredible ; 
for  first  we  run  our  ship  aground  in  a  great  wood  which 
grew  in  the  very  sea  itself,  and  then  took  out  her 


214  TRUE  AND  TEAGICAL  HISTORY 

masts,  and  covered  her  in  boughs,  with  her  four  cast 
pieces  of  great  ordnance  (of  which  more  hereafter), 
and  leaving  no  man  in  her,  started  for  the  South  Seas 
across  the  neck  of  Panama,  with  two  small  pieces  of 
ordnance  and  our  culverins,  and  good  store  of  victuals, 
and  with  us  six  of  those  negroes  for  a  guide,  and  so 
twelve  leagues  to  a  river  which  runs  into  the  South 
Sea. 

"  And  there,  having  cut  wood,  we  made  a  pinnace 
(and  work  enough  we  had  at  it),  of  five-and-forty  foot 
in  the  keel ;  and  in  her  down  the  stream,  and  to  the 
Isle  of  Pearls  in  the  Gulf  of  Panama." 

"  Into  the  South  Sea  1  Impossible  ! "  said  Sir 
Kichard.  "  Have  a  care  what  you  say,  my  man ;  for 
there  is  that  about  you  which  would  make  me  sorry 
to  find  you  out  a  liar." 

"  Impossible  or  not,  liar  or  none,  we  went  there,  sir." 

"Question  him,  Amyas,  lest  he  turn  out  to  have 
been  beforehand  with  you." 

The  man  looked  inquiringly  at  Amyas,  who  said, — 

"  Well,  my  man,  of  the  Gijlf  of  Panama  I  cannot 
ask  you,  for  I  never  was  inside  it,  but  what  other 
parts  of  the  coast  do  you  know?" 

"Every  inch,  sir,  from  Cabo  San  Francisco  to 
Lima;  more  is  my  sorrow,  for  I  was  a  galley-slave 
there  for  two  years  and  more." 

"You  know  Lima?" 

"I  was  there  three  times,  worshipful  gentlemen, 
and  the  last  was  February  come  two  years ;  and  there 
I  helped  lade  a  great  plate-ship,  the  '  Cacafuogo,'  they 
called  her." 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  215 

Amyas  started.  Sir  Richard  nodded  to  him  gently 
to  be  silent,  and  then — 

"And  what  became  of  her,  my  lad V 

"  God  knows,  who  knows  all,  and  the  devil  who 
freighted  her.  I  broke  prison  six  weeks  afterwards, 
and  never  heard  but  that  she  got  safe  into  Panama." 

"You  never  heard,  then,  that  she  was  taken f 

"  Taken,  your  worships  1    Who  should  take  her  f 

"  Why  should  not  a  good  English  ship  take  her  as 
well  as  another?"  said  Amyas. 

"Lord  love  you,  sir;  yes  faith,  if  they  had  but 
been  there.  Many's  the  time  that  I  thought  to  myself, 
as  we  went  alongside,  '  Oh,  if  Captain  Drake  was  but 
here,  well  to  windward,  and  our  old  crew  of  the 
Dragon ! '  Ask  your  pardon,  gentles :  but  how  is 
Captain  Drake,  if  I  may  make  so  bold"?" 

Neither  could  hold  out  longer. 

"Fellow,  fellow!"  cried  Sir  Richard,  springing  up, 
"  either  thou  art  the  cunningest  liar  that  ever  earned 
a  halter,  or  thou  hast  done  a  deed  the  like  of  which 
never  man  adventured.  Dost  thou  not  know  that 
Captain  Drake  took  that  'Cacafuogo'  and  all  her 
freight,  in  February  come  two  years'?" 

"  Captain  Drake  !  God  forgive  me,  sir ;  but — 
Captain  Drake  in  the  South  Seas?  He  saw  them, 
sir,  from  the  tree-top  over  Panama,  when  I  was  with 
him,  and  I  too  ;  but  sailed  them,  sir? — sailed  them?" 

"  Yes,  and  round  the  world  too,"  said  Amyas,  "  and 
I  with  him ;  and  took  that  very  '  Cacafuogo '  off  Cape 
San  Francisco,  as  she  came  up  to  Panama." 

One  glance  at  the  man's  face  was  enough  to  prove 


216  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

his  sincerity.  The  great  stern  Anabaptist,  Avho  had  not 
winced  at  the  news  of  his  mother's  death,  dropt  right 
on  his  knees  on  the  floor,  and  burst  into  violent 
sobs. 

"  Glory  to  God  !  Glory  to  God  !  0  Lord,  I  thank 
thee  !  Captain  Drake  in  the  South  Seas  !  The  blood 
of  thy  innocents  avenged,  0  Lord  !  The  spoiler  spoiled, 
and  the  proud  robbed ;  and  all  they  whose  hands  were 
mighty  have  found  nothing.  Glory,  Glory  !  Oh,  tell 
me,  sir,  did  she  fight  ■?" 

"  We  gave  her  three  pieces  of  ordnance  only,  and 
struck  down  her  mizen  mast,  and  then  boarded  sword 
in  hand,  but  never  had  need  to  strike  a  blow ;  and 
before  we  left  her,  one  of  her  own  boys  had  changed 
her  name,  and  rechristened  her  the  'Cacaplata.'" 

*'  Glory,  glory  !  Cowards  they  are,  as  I  told  them. 
I  told  them  they  never  could  stand  the  Devon  mastiffs, 
and  well  they  flogged  me  for  saying  it ;  but  they  could 
not  stop  my  mouth.  0  sir,  tell  me,  did  you  get  the 
ship  that  came  up  after  herf 

"What  was  that"? " 

"A  long  race -ship,  sir,  from  Guayaquil,  with  an 
old  gentleman  on  board, — Don  Francisco  de  Xararte 
was  his  name,  and  by  token,  he  had  a  gold  falcon 
hanging  to  a  chain  round  his  neck,  and  a  green  stone 
in  the  breast  of  it.  I  saw  it  as  we  rowed  him  aboard. 
O  tell  me,  sir,  tell  me  for  the  love  of  God,  did  you 
take  that  shipf 

"  We  did  take  that  ship,  and  the  jewel  too,  and  her 
Majesty  has  it  at  this  very  hour." 

"Then  tell  me,  sir,"  said  he  slowly,  as  if  he  dreaded 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  217 

an  answer;  "tell  me,  sir,  and  oh,  try  and  mind — was 
there  a  little  maid  aboard  with  the  old  gentleman  1" 

"  A  little  maid  ?    Let  me  think.     No ;  I  saw  none." 

The  man  settled  his  features  again  sadly. 

"I  thought  not.  I  never  saw  her  come  aboard. 
Still  I  hoped,  like ;  I  hoped.  Alackaday  !  God  help 
me,  Salvation  Yeo !" 

"  What  have  you  to  do  with  this  little  maid,  then, 
good  fellow  f  asked  Grenvile. 

"Ah,  sir,  before  I  tell  you  that,  I  must  go  back 
and  finish  the  story  of  Mr.  Oxenham,  if  you  will 
believe  me  enough  to  hear  it." 

"  I  do  believe  thee,  good  fellow,  and  honour  thee 
too." 

"  Then,  sir,  I  can  speak  with  a  free  tongue. 
Where  was  II" 

"Where  was  he,  Amyas." 

"At  the  Isle  of  Pearls." 

"And  yet,  0  gentles,  tell  me  first,  how  Captain 
Drake  came  into  the  South  Seas  : — over  the  neck,  as 
we  didf 

"  Through  the  Straits,  good  fellow,  like  any 
Spaniard :  but  go  on  with  thy  story,  and  thou,  shalt 
have  Mr.  Leigh's  after." 

"  Through  the  Straits  !  0  glory  !  But  I'll  tell  my 
tale.  Well,  sirs  both — To  the  Island  of  Pearls  we 
came,  we  and  some  of  the  negroes.  We  found  many 
huts,  and  Indians  fishing  for  pearls,  and  also  a  fair 
house,  with  porches;  but  no  Spaniard  therein,  save 
one  man;  at  which  Mr.  Oxenham  was  like  a  man 
transported,  and  fell  on  that  Spaniard,  crying,  'Perro, 


218  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

where  is  your  mistress?  Where  is  the  bark  from 
Lima?'  To  which  he  boldly  enough,  'AVhat  was  his 
mistress  to  the  Englishman  V  But  Mr.  O.  threatened 
to  twine  a  cord  round  his  head  till  his  eyes  burst  out; 
and  the  Spaniard,  being  terrified,  said  that  the  ship 
from  Lima  was  expected  in  a  fortnight's  time.  So 
for  ten  days  we  lay  quiet,  letting  neither  negro  nor 
Spaniard  leave  the  island,  and  took  good  store  of 
pearls,  feeding  sumptuously  on  wild  cattle  and  hogs 
until  the  tenth  day,  when  there  came  by  a  small  bark; 
her  we  took,  and  found  her  from  Quito,  and  on  board 
60,000  pezos  of  gold  and  other  store.  With  which  if 
we  had  been  content,  gentlemen,  all  had  gone  well. 
And  some  were  willing  to  go  back  at  once,  having 
both  treasure  and  pearls  in  plenty;  but  Mr.  0.,  he 
waxed  right  mad,  and  swore  to  slay  any  one  who 
made  that  motion  again,  assuring  us  that  the  Lima 
ship  of  which  he  had  news  was  far  greater  and  richer, 
and  would  make  princes  of  us  all ;  which  bark  came 
in  sight  on  the  sixteenth  day,  and  was  taken  without 
shot  or  slaughter.  The  taking  of  which  bark,  I  verily 
believe,  was  the  ruin  of  every  mother's  son  of  us." 

And  being  asked  why,  he  answered,  "First, 
because  of  the  discontent  which  was  bred  thereby; 
for  on  board  was  found  no  gold,  but  only  100,000 
pezos  of  silver." 

Sir  Richard  Grenvile. — Thou  greedy  fellow;  and 
was  not  that  enough  to  stay  your  stomachs  ? 

Yeo  answered,  that  he  would  to  God  it  had  been ; 
but  that,  moreover,  the  weight  of  that  silver  was 
afterwards  a  hindrance  to  them,  and  a  fresh  cause  of 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  219 

discontent,  as  he  would  afterwards  declare.  "So  that 
it  had  ,been  well  for  us,  sirs,  if  we  had  left  it  behind, 
as  Mr.  Drake  left  his  three  years  before,  and  carried 
away  the  gold  only.  In  which  I  do  see  the  evident 
hand  of  God,  and  his  just  punishment  for  our  greedi- 
ness of  gain ;  who  caused  Mr.  Oxenham,  by  whom  we 
had  hoped  to  attain  great  wealth,  to  be  a  snare  to  us, 
and  a  cause  of  utter  ruin." 

"Do  you  think,  then,"  said  Sir  Eichard,  "that  Mr. 
Oxenham  deceived  you  wilfully  f' 

"  I  will  never  believe  that,  sir ;  Mr.  Oxenham  had 
his  private  reasons  for  waiting  for  that  ship,  for  the 
sake  of  one  on  board,  whose  face  would  that  he  had 
never  seen,  though  he  saw  it  then,  as  I  fear,  not  for 
the  first  time  by  many  a  one."     And  so  was  silent. 

"Come,"  said  both  his  hearers,  "you have  brought 
us  thus  far,  and  you  must  go  on." 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  concealed  this  matter  from  all 
men,  both  on  my  voyage  home  and  since  ;  and  I  hope 
you  will  be  secret  in  the  matter,  for  the  honour  of 
my  noble  Captain,  and  the  comfort  of  his  friends  who 
are  alive.  For  I  think  it  shame  to  publish  harm  of  a 
gallant  gentleman,  and  of  an  ancient  and  worshipful 
family,  and  to  me  a  true  and  kind  Captain,  when 
what  is  done  cannot  be  undone,  and  least  said  soonest 
mended.  Neither  now  would  I  have  spoken  of  it, 
but  that  I  was  inwardly  moved  to  it  for  the  sake  of 
that  young  gentleman  there  (looking  at  Amyas),  that 
he  might  be  warned  in  time  of  God's  wrath  against 
the  crying  sin  of  adultery,  and  flee  youthful  lusts, 
which  war  against  the  soul." 


220  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

"Thou  hast  done  wisely  enough,  then,"  said  Sir 
Richard ;  "  and  look  to  it  if  I  do  not  reward  thee : 
but  the  young  gentleman  here,  thank  God,  needs  no 
such  warnings,  having  got  them  already  both  by  pre- 
cept and  example,  where  thou  and  poor  Oxenham 
might  have  had  them  also." 

"You  mean  Captain  Drake,  your  worship f' 

"I  do,  sirrah.  If  all  men  were  as  clean  livers  as 
he,  the  world  would  be  spared  one  half  the  tears  that 
are  shed  in  it." 

"Amen,  sir.  At  least  there  would  have  been 
many  a  tear  spared  to  us  and  ours.  For — as  all  must 
out — in  that  bark  of  Lima  he  took  a  young  lady,  as 
fair  as  the  sunshine,  sir,  and  seemingly  about  two  or 
three-and-twenty  years  of  age,  having  with  her  a  tall 
young  lad  of  sixteen,  and  a  little  girl,  a  marvellously 
pretty  child,  of  about  a  six  or  seven.  And  the  lady 
herself  was  of  an  excellent  beauty,  like  a  whale's  tooth 
for  whiteness,  so  that  all  the  crew  wondered  at  her, 
and  could  not  be  satisfied  with  looking  upon  her. 
And,  gentlemen,  this  was  strange,  that  the  lady 
seemed  in  no  wise  afraid  or  mournful,  and  bid  her 
little  girl  fear  nought,  as  did  also  Mr.  Oxenham  :  but 
the  lad  kept  a  very  sour  countenance,  and  the  more 
when  he  saw  the  lady  and  Mr.  Oxenham  speaking 
together  apart. 

"Well,  sir,  after  this  good  luck  we  were  minded 
to  have  gone  straight  back  to  the  river  whence  we 
came,  and  so  home  to  England  with  all  speed.  But 
Mr.  Oxenham  persuaded  us  to  return  to  the  island, 
and   get  a  few  more  pearls.     To  which  foolishness 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  221 

(which  after  caused  the  mishap)  I  verily  believe  he 
was  moved  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil  and  of  that 
lady.  For  as  we  were  about  to  go  ashore,  I,  going 
down  into  the  cabin  of  the  prize,  saw  Mr.  Oxenham 
and  that  lady  making  great  cheer  of  each  other  with, 
'My  life,'  and  'My  king,'  and  '  Light  of  my  eyes,'  and 
such  toys ;  and  being  bidden  by  Mr.  Oxenham  to  fetch 
out  the  lady's  mails,  and  take  them  ashore,  heard  how 
the  tvro  laughed  together  about  the  old  ape  of  Panama 
(which  ape,  or  devil  rather,  I  saw  afterwards  to  my 
cost),  and  also  how  she  said,  that  she  had  been  dead 
for  five  years,  and  now  that  Mr.  Oxenham  was  come, 
she  was  alive  again,  and  so  forth. 

"Mr.  Oxenham  bade  take  the  little  maid  ashore, 
kissing  her  and  playing  with  her,  and  saying  to  the 
lady,  'What  is  yours  is  mine,  and  what  is  mine  is 
yours.'  And  she  asking  whether  the  lad  should  come 
ashore,  he  answered,  '  He  is  neither  yours  nor  mine ; 
let  the  spawn  of  Beelzebub  stay  on  shore.'  After 
which  I,  coming  on  deck  again,  stumbled  over  that 
very  lad,  upon  the  hatchway  ladder,  who  bore  so  black 
and  despiteful  a  face,  that  I  verily  believe  he  had 
overheard  their  speech,  and  so  thrust  him  upon  deck ; 
and  going  below  again,  told  Mr.  Oxenham  what  I 
thought,  and  said  that  it  were  better  to  put  a  dagger 
into  him  at  once,  professing  to  be  ready  so  to  do. 
For  which  grievous  sin,  seeing  that  it  was  committed 
in  my  unregenerate  days,  I  hope  I  have  obtained  the 
grace  of  forgiveness,  as  I  have  that  of  hearty  repent- 
ance. But  the  lady  cried  out,  'Though  he  be  none 
of  mine,  I  have  sin  enough  already  on  my  soul;'  and 


222  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

SO  laid  her  hand  on  Mr.  Oxenham's  mouth,  entreating 
pitifully.  And  Mr.  Oxenham  answered  laughing, 
when  she  would  let  him,  'What  care  we?  let  the 
young  monkey  go  and  howl  to  the  old  one;'  and  so 
went  ashore  with  the  lady  to  that  house,  whence  for 
three  days  he  never  came  forth,  and  would  have 
remained  longer,  but  that  the  men,  finding  but  few 
pearls,  and  being  wearied  with  the  watching  and 
warding  so  many  Spaniards,  and  negroes  came  clam- 
ouring to  him,  and  swore  that  they  would  return  or 
leave  him  there  with  the  lady.  So  all  went  on  board 
the  pinnace  again,  every  one  in  ill  humour  with  the 
Captain,  and  he  with  them. 

"Well,  sirs,  we  came  back  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  there  began  our  troubles ;  for  the  negroes, 
as  soon  as  we  were  on  shore,  called  on  Mr.  Oxenham 
to  fulfil  the  bargain  he  had  made  with  them.  And 
now  it  came  out  (what  few  of  us  knew  till  then)  that 
he  had  agreed  with  the  Cimaroons  that  they  should 
have  all  the  prisoners  which  were  taken,  save  the 
gold.  And  he,  though  loth,  was  about  to  give  up  the 
Spaniards  to  them,  near  forty  in  all,  supposing  that 
they  intended  to  use  them  as  slaves :  but  as  we  all 
stood  talking,  one  of  the  Spaniards,  understanding 
what  was  forward,  threw  himself  on  his  knees  before 
Mr.  Oxenham,  and  shrieking  like  a  madman,  entreated 
not  to  be  given  up  into  the  hands  of  '  those  devils,' 
said  he,  '  who  never  take  a  Spanish  prisoner,  but  they 
roast  him  alive,  and  then  eat  his  heart  among  them.' 
We  asked  the  negroes  if  this  was  possible  1  To  which 
some  answered,  What  was  that  to  us?     But  others 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  223 

said  boldly,  that  it  was  true  enough,  and  that  revenge 
made  the  best  sauce,  and  nothing  was  so  sweet  as 
Spanish  blood;  and  one,  pointing  to  the  lady,  said 
such  foul  and  devilish  things  as  I  should  be  ashamed 
either  for  me  to  speak,  or  you  to  hear.  At  this  we 
were  like  men  amazed  for  very  horror ;  and  Mr.  Oxen- 
ham  said,  '  You  incarnate  fiends,  if  you  had  taken  these 
fellows  for  slaves,  it  had  been  fair  enough;  for  you 
were  once  slaves  to  them,  and  I  doubt  not  cruelly  used 
enough:  but  as  for  this  abomination,'  says  he,  'God 
do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  I  let  one  of  them  come 
into  your  murderous  hands.'  So  there  was  a  great 
quarrel;  but  Mr.  Oxenham  stoutly  bade  put  the 
prisoners  on  board  the  ships  again,  and  so  let  the 
prizes  go,  taking  with  him  only  the  treasure,  and  the 
lady  and  the  little  maid.  And  so  the  lad  went  on  to 
Panama,  God's  wrath  having  gone  out  against  us. 

"Well,  sirs,  the  Cimaroons  after  that  went  away 
from  us,  swearing  revenge  (for  which  we  cared  little 
enough),  and  we  rowed  up  the  river  to  a  place  where 
three  streams  met,  and  then  up  the  least  of  the  three, 
some  four  days'  journey,  till  it  grew  all  shoal  and  swift; 
and  there  we  hauled  the  pinnace  upon  the  sands,  and 
Mr.  Oxenham  asked  the  men  whether  they  were 
wilHng  to  carry  the  gold  and  silver  over  the  mountains 
to  the  North  Sea.  Some  of  them  at  first  were  loth  to 
do  it,  and  I  and  others  advised  that  we  should  leave 
the  plate  behind,  and  take  the  gold  only,  for  it  would 
have  cost  us  three  or  four  journeys  at  the  least.  But 
Mr.  Oxenham  promised  every  man  100  pezos  of  silver 
over  and  above  his  wages,  which  made  them  content 


224  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

enough,  and  we  were  all  to  start  the  morrow  morning. 
But,  sirs,  that  night,  as  God  had  ordained,  came  a 
mishap  by  some  rash  speeches  of  Mr.  Oxenham's, 
which  threw  all  abroad  again;  for  when  we  had 
carried  the  treasure  about  half  a  league  inland,  and 
hidden  it  away  in  a  house  which  we  made  of  boughs, 
Mr.  O.  being  always  full  of  that  his  fair  lady,  spoke 
to  me  and  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  good 
comrade,  and  a  few  more,  saying,  'That  we  had  no 
need  to  return  to  England,  seeing  that  we  were  already 
in  the  very  garden  of  Eden,  and  wanted  for  nothing, 
but  could  live  without  labour  or  toil ;  and  that  it 
was  better,  when  we  got  over  to  the  North  Sea,  to  go 
and  seek  out  some  fair  island,  and  there  dwell  in  joy 
and  pleasure  till  oar  lives'  end.  And  we  two,'  he 
said,  '  will  be  king  and  queen,  and  you,  whom  I  can 
trust,  my  officers ;  and  for  servants  we  will  have  the 
Indians,  who,  I  warrant,  will  be  more  fain  to  serve 
honest  and  merry  masters  like  us  than  those  Spanish 
devils,'  and  much  more  of  the  like;  which  words  I 
liked  well, — my  mind,  alas  !  being  given  altogether  to 
carnal  pleasure  and  vanity, — as  did  William  Penberthy, 
my  good  comrade,  on  whom  I  trust  God  has  had  mercy. 
But  the  rest,  sirs,  took  the  matter  all  across,  and 
began  murmuring  against  the  Captain,  saying  that 
poor  honest  mariners  like  them  had  always  the  labour 
and  the  pain,  while  he  took  his  delight  with  his  lady ; 
and  that  they  would  have  at  least  one  merry  night 
before  they  were  slain  by  the  Cimaroons,  or  eaten  by 
panthers  and  lagartos ;  and  so  got  out  of  the  pinnace 
two  great  skins  of  Canary  wine,  which  were  taken  in 


OF  MK.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  225 

the  Lima  prize,  and  sat  themselves  down  to  drink. 
Moreover,  there  were  in  the  pinnace  a  great  sight  of 
hens,  which  came  from  the  same  prize,  by  which  Mr. 
0.  set  great  store,  keeping  them  for  the  lady  and  the 
httle  maid ;  and  falling  upon  these,  the  men  began  to 
blaspheme,  saying,  'What  a  plague  had  the  Captain 
to  fill  the  boat  with  dirty  live  lumber  for  that  giglet's 
sake  1  They  had  a  better  right  to  a  good  supper  than 
ever  she  had,  and  might  fast  awhile  to  cool  her  hot 
blood;'  and  so  cooked  and  ate  those  hens,  plucking 
them  on  board  the  pinnace,  and  letting  the  feathers 
fall  into  the  stream.  But  when  William  Penberthy, 
my  good  comrade,  saw  the  feathers  floating  away 
down,  he  asked  them  if  they  were  mad,  to  lay  a  trail 
by  which  the  Spaniards  would  surely  track  them  out, 
if  they  came  after  them,  as  without  doubt  they  would. 
But  they  laughed  him  to  scorn,  and  said  that  no 
Spanish  cur  dared  follow  on  the  heels  of  true  English 
mastiffs  as  they  were,  and  other  boastful  speeches; 
and  at  last,  being  heated  with  wine,  began  afresh  to 
murmur  at  the  Captain.  And  one  speaking  of  his 
counsel  about  the  island,  the  rest  altogether  took  it 
amiss  and  out  of  the  way ;  and  some  sprang  up  crpng 
treason,  and  others  that  he  meant  to  defraud  them  of 
the  plate  which  he  had  promised,  and  others  that  he 
meant  to  desert  them  in  a  strange  land,  and  so  forth, 
till  Mr.  0.,  hearing  the  hubbub,  came  out  to  them  from 
the  house,  when  they  reviled  him  foully,  swearing  that 
he  meant  to  cheat  them;  and  one  Edward  Stiles,  a 
Wapping  man,  mad  with  drink,  dared  to  say  that  he 
was  a  fool   for  not  giving  up  the  prisoners  to  the 

VOL.  I.  Q  w.  H. 


226  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

negroes,  and  what  was  it  to  him  if  the  lady  roasted  1 
the  negroes  should  have  her  yet;  and  drawuig  his 
sword,  ran  upon  the  Captain ;  for  which  I  was  about 
to  strike  him  through  the  body  ;  but  the  Cap- 
tain, not  caring  to  waste  steel  on  such  a  ribald, 
with  his  fist  caught  him  such  a  buffet  behind  the 
ear,  that  he  fell  down  stark  dead,  and  all  the  rest 
stood  amazed.  Then  Mr.  Oxhenham  called  out, 
*A11  honest  men  who  know  me,  and  can  trust  me, 
stand  by  your  lawful  Captain  against  these  rufiians.' 
Whereon,  sirs,  I,  and  Penberthy  my  good  comrade, 
and  four  Plymouth  men,  who  had  sailed  with  Mr.  O. 
in  Mr.  Drake's  ship,  and  knew  his  trusty  and  valiant 
conditions,  came  over  to  him,  and  swore  before  God  to 
stand  by  him  and  the  lady.  Then  said  Mr.  O.  to  the 
rest,  '  Will  you  carry  this  treasure,  knaves,  or  will  you 
not^  Give  me  an  answer  here.'  And  they  refused, 
unless  he  would,  before  they  started,  give  each  man 
his  share.  So  Mr.  0.  waxed  very  mad,  and  swore  that 
he  would  never  be  served  by  men  who  did  not  trust 
him,  and  so  went  in  again  ;  and  that  night  was  spent 
in  great  disquiet,  I  and  those  five  others  keeping  watch 
about  the  house  of  boughs  till  the  rest  fell  asleep,  in 
their  drink.  And  next  morning,  when  the  wine  was 
gone  out  of  them,  Mr.  0.  asked  them  whether  they 
would  go  to  the  hills  with  him,  and  find  those  negroes, 
and  persuade  them  after  all  to  carry  the  treasure. 
To  which  they  agreed  after  awhile,  thinking  that  so 
they  should  save  themselves  labour ;  and  went  off"  with 
Mr.  Oxenham,  leaving  us  six  who  had  stood  by  him  to 
watch  the  lady  and  the  treasure,  after  he  had  taken 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  227 

an  oath  of  us  that  we  would  deal  justly  and  obediently 
by  him  and  by  her,  which  God  knows,  gentlemen,  we 
did.  So  he  parted  with  much  weeping  and  wailing  of 
the  lady,  and  was  gone  seven  days ;  and  all  that  time 
we  kept  that  lady  faithfully  and  honestly,  bringing  her 
the  best  we  could  find,  and  serving  her  upon  our 
bended  knees,  both  for  her  admirable  beauty,  and  for 
her  excellent  conditions,  for  she  was  certainly  of  some 
noble  kin,  and  courteous,  and  without  fear,  as  if  she 
had  been  a  very  princess.  But  she  kept  always  within 
the  house,  which  the  little  maid  (God  bless  her !)  did 
not,  but  soon  learned  to  play  with  us  and  we  with  her, 
so  that  we  made  great  cheer  of  her,  gentlemen,  sailor 
fashion — for  you  know  we  must  always  have  our 
minions  aboard  to  pet  and  amuse  us — ^maybe  a  monkey, 
or  a  little  dog,  or  a  singing  bird,  ay,  or  mice  and  spiders, 
if  we  have  nothing  better  to  play  withal.  And  she 
was  wonderful  sharp,  sirs,  was  the  little  maid,  and 
picked  up  her  English  from  us  fast,  calling  us  jolly 
mariners,  which  I  doubt  but  she  has  forgotten  by  now, 
but  I  hope  in  God  it  be  not  so;"  and  therewith  the 
good  fellow  began  wiping  his  eyes. 

"  Well,  sir,  on  the  seventh  day  we  six  were  down 
by  the  pinnace  clearing  her  out,  and  the  little  maid 
with  us  gathering  of  flowers,  and  William  Penberthy 
fishing  on  the  bank,  about  a  hundred  yards  below, 
when  on  a  sudden  he  leaps  up  and  runs  toward  us, 
crying,  '  Here  come  our  hens'  feathers  back  again  with 
a  vengeance !'  and  so  bade  catch  up  the  little  maid, 
and  run  for  the  house,  for  the  Spaniards  were  upon  us. 

"  Which  was  too  true ;  for  before  we  could  win  the 


228  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

house,  there  were  full  eighty  shot  at  our  heels,  but 
could  not  overtake  us;  nevertheless,  some  of  them 
stopping,  fixed  their  calivers  and  let  fly,  killing  one  of 
the  Plymouth  men.  The  rest  of  us  escaped  to  the 
house,  and  catching  up  the  lady,  fled  forth,  not  know- 
ing whither  we  went,  while  the  Spaniards,  finding  the 
house  and  treasure,  pursued  us  no  farther. 

"For  all  that  day  and  the  next  we  wandered  in 
great  misery,  the  lady  weeping  continually,  and  calling 
for  Mr.  Oxenham  most  piteously,  and  the  little  maid 
likewise,  till  with  much  ado  we  found  the  track  of  our 
comrades,  and  went  up  that  as  best  we  might :  but  at 
nightfall,  by  good  hap,  we  met  the  whole  crew  coming 
back,  and  with  them  200  negroes  or  more,  with  bows 
and  arrows.  At  which  sight  was  great  joy  and  em- 
bracing, and  it  was  a  strange  thing,  sirs,  to  see  the 
lady ;  for  before  that  she  was  altogether  desperate : 
and  yet  she  was  now  a  very  lioness,  as  soon  as  she  had 
got  her  love  again ;  and  prayed  him  earnestly  not  to 
care  for  that  gold,  but  to  go  forward  to  the  North  Sea, 
vowing  to  him  in  my  hearing  that  she  cared  no  more 
for  poverty  than  she  had  cared  for  her  good  name,  and 
then — they  being  a  little  apart  from  the  rest — pointed 
round  to  the  green  forest,  and  said  in  Spanish — which 
I  suppose  they  knew  not  that  I  understood, — '  See,  all 
round  us  is  Paradise.  Were  it  not  enough  for  you  and 
me  to  stay  here  for  ever,  and  let  them  take  the  gold 
or  leave  it  as  they  will  V 

"To  which  Mr  Oxenham — 'Those  who  lived  in 
Paradise  had  not  sinned  as  we  have,  and  would  never 
have  grown  old  or  sick,  as  we  shall.' 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  229 

"  And  she — *  If  we  do  that,  there  are  poisons  enough 
in  these  woods,  by  which  we  may  die  in  each  other's 
arms,  as  would  to  Heaven  we  had  died  seven  years 
agone ! ' 

"But  he — 'No,  no,  my  Hfe.  It  stands  upon  my 
honour  both  to  fulfil  my  bond  with  these  men,  whom 
I  have  brought  hither,  and  to  take  home  to  England 
at  least  something  of  my  prize  as  a  proof  of  my  own 
valour.' 

"  Then  she  smiling — '  Am  I  not  prize  enough,  and 
proof  enough?'  But  he  would  not  be  so  tempted,  and 
turning  to  us  offered  us  the  half  of  that  treasure,  if 
we  would  go  back  with  him,  and  rescue  it  from  the 
Spaniard.  At  which  the  lady  wept  and  wailed  much ; 
but  I  took  upon  myself  to  comfort  her,  though  I  was 
but  a  simple  mariner,  telling  her  that  it  stood  upon 
Mr.  Oxenham's  honour ;  and  that  in  England  nothing 
was  esteemed  so  foul  as  cowardice,  or  breaking  word 
and  troth  betwixt  man  and  man;  and  that  better 
was  it  for  him  to  die  seven  times  by  the  Spaniards, 
than  to  face  at  home  the  scorn  of  all  who  sailed  the 
seas.  So,  after  much  ado,  back  they  went  again; 
I  and  Penberthy,  and  the  three  Plymouth  men 
which  escaped  from  the  pinnace,  keeping  the  lady  as 
before. 

"Well,  sirs,  we  waited  five  days,  having  made 
houses  of  boughs  as  before,  without  hearing  aught; 
and  on  the  sixth  we  saw  coming  afar  off  Mr.  Oxenham, 
and  with  him  fifteeen  or  twenty  men,  who  seemed 
very  weary  and  wounded ;  and  when  we  looked  for 
the  rest  to  be  behind  them,  behold  there  were  no  more; 


230  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

at  which,  sirs,  as  you  may  well  think,  our  hearts  sank 
within  us. 

"And  Mr,  O.,  coming  nearer,  cried  out  afar  off, 
*  All  is  lost ! '  and  so  walked  into  the  camp  without  a 
word,  and  sat  himself  down  at  the  foot  of  a  great  tree 
with  his  head  between  his  hands,  speaking  neither  to 
the  lady  or  to  any  one,  till  she  very  pitifully  kneeling 
before  him,  cursing  herself  for  the  cause  of  all  his  mis- 
chief, and  praying  him  to  avenge  himself  upon  that 
her  tender  body,  won  him  hardly  to  look  once  upon 
her,  after  which  (as  is  the  way  of  vain  and  unstable 
man)  all  between  them  was  as  before. 

"  But  the  men  were  full  of  curses  against  the  negroes, 
for  their  cowardice  and  treachery;  yea,  and  against 
high  Heaven  itself,  which  had  put  the  most  part  of 
their  ammunition  into  the  Spaniards'  hands ;  and  told 
me,  and  I  believe  truly,  how  they  forced  the  enemy 
awaiting  them  in  a  little  copse  of  great  trees,  well 
fortified  with  barricades  of  boughs,  and  having  with 
them  our  two  falcons,  which  they  had  taken  out  of  the 
pinnace.  And  how  Mr.  Oxenham  divided  both  the 
English  and  the  negroes  into  two  bands,  that  one 
might  attack  the  enemy  in  front,  and  the  other  in  the 
rear,  and  so  set  upon  them  with  great  fury,  and  would 
have  utterly  driven  them  out,  but  that  the  negroes, 
who  had  come  on  with  much  howling,  like  very  wild 
beasts,  being  suddenly  scared  with  the  shot  and  noise 
of  the  ordnance,  turned  and  fled,  leaving  the  English- 
men alone ;  in  which  evil  strait  Mr.  O.  fought  like  a 
very  Guy  of  Warwick,  and  I  verily  believe  every  man 
of  them  likewise ;  for  there  was  none  of  them  who  had 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXENHAM,  231 

not  his  shrewd  scratch  to  show.  And  indeed,  Mr. 
Oxenham's  party  had  once  gotten  within  the  barricades 
but  the  Spaniards  being  sheltered  by  the  tree  trunks 
(and  especially  by  one  mighty  tree,  which  stood  as  I 
remembered  it,  and  remember  it  now,  borne  up  two 
fathoms  high  upon  its  own  roots,  as  it  were  upon 
arches  and  pillars),  shot  at  them  with  such  advantage, 
that  they  had  several  slain,  and  seven  more  taken  alive, 
only  among  the  roots  of  that  tree.  So  seeing  that 
they  could  prevail  nothing,  having  little  but  their  pikes 
and  swords,  they  were  fain  to  give  back ;  though  Mr. 
Oxenham  swore  he  would  not  stir  a  foot,  and  making 
at  the  Spanish  Captain  was  borne  down  with  pikes, 
and  hardly  pulled  away  by  some,  who  at  last  reminding 
him  of  his  lady,  persuaded  him  to  come  away  with  the 
rest.  Whereon  the  other  party  fled  also ;  but  what 
had  become  of  them  they  knew  not,  for  they  took 
another  way.  And  so  they  miserably  drew  off",  having 
lost  in  men  eleven  killed  and  seven  taken  alive,  besides 
five  of  the  rascal  negroes  who  were  killed  before  they 
had  time  to  run ;  and  there  was  an  end  of  the  matter.^ 

^  In  the  documents  from  which  I  have  drawn  this  veracious 
history,  a  note  is  appended  to  this  point  of  Yeo's  story,  which 
seems  to  me  to  smack  sufficiently  of  the  old  Elizabethan  seaman, 
to  be  inserted  at  length. 

* '  All  so  far,  and  most  after,  agi'eeth  with  Lopez  Vaz  his  tale, 
taken  from  his  pocket  by  my  Lord  Cumberland's  mariners  at 
the  river  Plate,  in  the  year  1586.  But  note  here  his  vainglory 
and  falsehood,  or  else  fear  of  the  Spaniard. 

' '  First,  lest  it  should  be  seen  how  great  an  advantage  the 
Spaniards  had,  he  maketh  no  mention  of  the  English  calivers, 
nor  those  two  pieces  of  ordnance  which  were  in  the  pinnace. 

"Second,  he  saith  nothing  of  the  flight  of  the  Cimaroons  : 


232  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

"  But  the  next  day,  gentlemen,  in  came  some  five- 
and-twenty  more,  being  the  wreck  of  the  other  party, 
and  with  them  a  few  negroes ;  and  these  last  proved 

though  it  was  evidently  to  be  gathered  from  that  which  he  him- 
self saith,  that  of  less  than  seventy  English  were  slain  eleven, 
and  of  the  negroes  but  five.  And  while  of  the  English  seven 
were  taken  alive,  yet  of  the  negroes  none.  And  why,  but  because 
the  rascals  ran  ? 

"Thirdly,  it  is  a  thing  incredible,  and  out  of  experience, 
that  eleven  English  should  be  slain  and  seven  taken,  with  loss 
only  of  two  Spaniards  killed. 

"Search  now,  and  see  (for  I  will  not  speak  of  mine  own 
small  doings),  in  all  those  memorable  voyages,  which  the  worthy 
and  learned  Mr.  Hakluyt  hath  so  painfully  collected,  and  which 
are  to  my  old  age  next  only  to  my  Bible,  whether  in  all  the 
fights  which  we  have  endured  with  the  Spaniards,  their  loss, 
even  in  victory,  hath  not  far  exceeded  ours.  For  we  are  both 
bigger  of  body  and  fiercer  of  spirit,  being  even  to  the  poorest  of 
us  (thanks  to  the  care  of  our  illustrious  princes)  the  best  fed 
men  of  Europe,  the  most  trained  to  feats  of  strength  and  use  of 
weapons,  and  put  our  trust  also  not  in  any  Virgin  or  saints, 
dead  rags  and  bones,  painted  idols  which  have  no  breath  in 
their  mouths,  or  St.  Bartholomew  medals  and  such  devil's 
remembrancers :  but  in  the  only  true  God  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  whom  whosoever  trusteth,  one  of  them  shall  chase  a 
thousand.  So  I  hold,  having  had  good  experience  ;  and  say,  if 
they  have  done  it  once,  let  them  do  it  again,  and  kill  their 
eleven  to  our  two,  vnth.  any  weapon  they  will,  save  paper  bullets 
blown  out  of  Fame's  lying  trumpet.  Yet  I  have  no  quarrel  with 
the  poor  Portugal  ;  for  I  doubt  not  but  friend  Lopez  Vaz  had 
looking  over  his  shoulder  as  he  wrote  some  mighty  black  velvet 
Don,  -with  a  name  as  long  as  that  Don  Bernaldino  Delgadillo  de 
Avellaneda  who  set  forth  lately  his  vainglorious  libel  of  lies  con- 
cerning the  last  and  fatal  voyage  of  my  dear  friends  Sir  F.  Drake 
and  Sir  John  Hawkins,  who  rest  in  peace,  having  finished  their 
labours,  as  would  God  I  rested.  To  whose  shameless  and 
unspeakable  lying  my  good  friend  Mr.  Henry  Savile  of  this 
county  did  most  pithily  and  wittily  reply,  stripping  the  ass 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  233 

themselves  no  honester  men  than  they  were  brave,  for 
there  being  great  misery  among  us  English,  and  every 
one  of  us  straggling  where  he  could  to  get  food,  every 
day  one  or  more  who  went  out  never  came  back,  and 
that  caused  a  suspicion  that  the  negroes  had  betrayed 
them  to  the  Spaniards,  or  may  be,  slain  and  eaten  them. 
So  these  fellows  being  upbraided  with  that  altogether 
left  us,  telling  us  boldly,  that  if  they  had  eaten  our 
fellows,  we  owed  them  a  debt  instead  of  the  Spanish 
prisoners;  and  we,  in  great  terror  and  hunger,  went 
forward  and  over  the  mountains  till  we  came  to  a  little 
river  which  ran  northward,  which  seemed  to  lead  into 
the  Northern  Sea;  and  there  Mr.  0. — who,  sirs,  I 
will  say,  after  his  first  rage  was  over,  behaved  himself 
all  through  like  a  valiant  and  skilful  commander — 
bade  us  cut  down  trees  and  make  canoes,  to  go  down 
to  the  sea ;  which  we  began  to  do  with  great  labour 
and  little  profit,  hewing  down  trees  with  our  swords, 
and  burning  them  out  with  fire,  which,  after  much 
labour,  we  kindled ;  but  as  we  were  a-burning  out  of 
the  first  tree,  and  cutting  down  of  another,  a  great 
party  of  negroes  came  upon  us,  and  with  much  friendly 
show  bade  us  flee  for  our  lives,  for  the  Spaniards  were 
upon  us  in  great  force.  And  so  we  were  up  and  away 
again,  hardly  able  to  drag  our  legs  after  us  for  hunger 

out  of  his  lion's  skin  ;  and  Sir  Thomas  Baskerville,  general  of 
the  fleet,  by  my  advice,  send  him  a  cartel  of  defiance,  offering 
to  meet  him  with  choice  of  weapons,  in  any  indifferent  kingdom 
of  equal  distance  from  this  realm ;  which  challenge  he  hath 
prudently  put  in  his  pipe,  or  rather  rolled  it  up  for  one  of  his 
Spanish  cigarros,  and  smoked  it,  and  I  doubt  not,  found  it  foul 
in  the  mouth." 


234  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

and  weariness,  and  the  broiling  heat.  And  some  were 
taken  (God  help  them  !)  and  some  fled  with  the  negroes, 
of  whom  what  became  God  alone  knoweth ;  but  eight 
or  ten  held  on  with  the  Captain,  among  whom  was  I, 
and  fled  downward  toward  the  sea  for  one  day ;  but 
afterwards  finding,  by  the  noise  in  the  woods,  that  the 
Spaniards  were  on  the  track  of  us,  we  turned  up  again 
toward  the  inland,  and  coming  to  a  cliff,  climbed  up 
over  it,  drawing  up  the  lady  and  the  little  maid  with 
cords  of  liana  (which  hang  from  those  trees  as  honey- 
suckle does  here,  but  exceeding  stout  and  long,  even 
to  fifty  fathoms) ;  and  so  breaking  the  track,  hoped 
to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  enemy. 

"By  which,  nevertheless,  we  only  increased  our 
misery.  For  two  fell  from  that  cliff,  as  men  asleep  for 
very  weariness,  and  miserably  broke  their  bones ;  and 
others,  whether  by  the  great  toil,  or  sunstrokes,  or 
eating  of  strange  berries,  fell  sick  of  fluxes  and  fevers ; 
where  was  no  drop  of  water,  but  rock  of  pumice  stone 
as  bare  as  the  back  of  my  hand,  and  full,  moreover, 
of  great  cracks,  black  and  without  bottom,  over  which 
we  had  not  strength  to  lift  the  sick,  but  were  fain  to 
leave  them  there  aloft,  in  the  sunshine,  like  Dives  in 
his  torments,  crying  aloud  for  a  drop  of  water  to  cool 
their  tongues ;  and  every  man  a  great  stinking  vulture 
or  two  sitting  by  him,  like  an  ugly  black  fiend  out  of 
the  pit,  waiting  till  the  poor  soul  should  depart  out  of 
the  corpse  :  but  nothing  could  avail,  and  for  the  dear 
life  we  must  down  again  and  into  the  woods,  or  be 
burned  up  alive  upon  those  rocks. 

"  So  getting  down  the  slope  on  the  farther  side,  we 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHA.M.  235 

came  into  the  woods  once  more,  and  there  wandered 
for  many  days,  I  know  not  how  many  ;  our  shoes  being 
gone,  and  our  clothes  all  rent  off  us  with  brakes  and 
briars.  And  yet  how  the  lady  endured  all  was  a 
marvel  to  see ;  for  she  went  barefoot  many  days,  and 
for  clothes  was  fain  to  wrap  herself  in  Mr.  Oxenham's 
cloak ;  while  the  little  maid  went  all  but  naked  :  but 
ever  she  looked  still  on  Mr.  Oxenham,  and  seemed  to 
take  no  care  as  long  as  he  was  by,  comforting  and 
cheering  us  all  with  pleasant  words ;  yea,  and  once 
sitting  down  under  a  great  fig-tree,  sang  us  all  to  sleep 
with  very  sweet  music ;  yet,  waking  about  midnight, 
I  saw  her  sitting  still  upright,  weeping  very  bitterly ; 
on  whom,  sirs,  God  have  mercy ;  for  she  was  a  fair 
and  a  brave  jewel. 

"  And  so,  to  make  few  words  of  a  sad  matter,  at 
last  there  were  none  left  but  Mr.  Oxenham  and  the 
lady  and  the  little  maid,  together  with  me  and  William 
Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  good  comrade.  And  Mr. 
Oxenham  always  led  the  lady,  and  Penberthy  and  I 
carried  the  little  maid  And  for  food  we  had  fruits, 
such  as  we  could  find,  and  water  we  got  from  the 
leaves  of  certain  lilies  which  grew  on  the  bark  of  trees, 
which  I  found  by  seeing  the  monkeys  drink  at  them ; 
and  the  little  maid  called  them  monkey-cups,  and 
asked  for  them  continually,  making  me  climb  for 
them.  And  so  we  wandered  on,  and  upward  into 
very  high  mountains,  always  fearing  lest  the  Spaniards 
should  track  us  with  dogs,  which  made  the  lady  leap 
up  often  in  her  sleep,  crying  that  the  bloodhounds 
were  upon  her.     And  it  befell  upon  a  day,  that  we 


236  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

came  into  a  great  wood  of  ferns  (which  grew  not  on 
the  ground  like  ours,  but  on  stems  as  big  as  a  pinnace's 
mast,  and  the  bark  of  them  was  like  a  fine  meshed 
net,  very  strange  to  see),  where  was  very  pleasant 
shade,  cool  and  green;  and  there,  gentlemen,  we  sat 
down  on  a  bank  of  moss,  like  folk  desperate  and  fore- 
done,  and  every  one  looked  the  other  in  the  face  for 
a  long  while.  After  which  I  took  off  the  bark  of 
those  ferns,  for  I  must  needs  be  doing  something  to 
drive  away  thought,  and  began  to  plait  slippers  for 
the  little  maid. 

"And  as  I  was  plaiting,  Mr.  Oxenhamsaid,  'What 
hinders  us  from  dying  like  men,  every  man  falling  on 
his  own  sword  f  To  which  I  answered  that  I  dare 
not;  for  a  wise  woman  had  prophesied  of  me,  sirs, 
that  I  should  die  at  sea,  and  yet  neither  by  water  or 
battle,  wherefore  I  did  not  think  right  to  meddle  with 
the  Lord's  purposes.  And  William  Penberthy  said, 
'  That  he  would  sell  his  life,  and  that  dear,  but  never 
give  it  away.'  But  the  lady  said,  'Ah,  how  gladly 
would  I  die !  but  then  la  paouvre  garse,'  which  is  in 
French  '  the  poor  maid,'  meaning  the  little  one.  Then 
Mr.  Oxenham  fell  into  a  very  great  weeping,  a  weak- 
ness I  never  saw  him  in  before  or  since;  and  with 
many  tears  besought  me  never  to  desert  that  little 
maid,  whatever  might  befall ;  which  I  promised,  swear- 
ing to  it  like  a  heathen,  but  would,  if  I  had  been  able, 
have  kept  it  like  a  Christian.  But  on  a  sudden  there 
was  a  great  cry  in  the  wood,  and  coming  through  the 
trees  on  all  sides  Spanish  arquebusiers,  a  hundred 
strong  at  least,  and  negroes  with  them,  who  bade  us 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  237 

stand  or  they  would  shoot.  William  Penberthy  leapt 
up,  crying,  '  Treason  ! '  and  running  upon  the  nearest 
negro  ran  him  through,  and  then  another,  and  then 
falling  on  the  Spaniards,  fought  manfully  till  he  was 
borne  down  with  pikes,  and  so  died.  But  I,  seeing 
nothing  better  to  do,  sate  still  and  finished  my  plait- 
ing. And  so  we  were  all  taken,  and  I  and  Mr. 
Oxenham  bound  with  cords ;  but  the  soldiers  made  a 
litter  for  the  lady  and  child,  by  commandment  of 
Seiior  Diego  de  Trees,  their  commander,  a  very  cour- 
teous gentleman. 

"Well,  sirs,  we  were  brought  down  to  the  place 
where  the  house  of  boughs  had  been  by  the  river-side ; 
there  we  went  over  in  boats,  and  found  waiting  for 
us  certain  Spanish  gentlemen,  and  among  others  one 
old  and  ill-favoured  man,  grey-bearded  and  bent,  in  a 
suit  of  black  velvet,  who  seemed  to  be  a  great  man 
among  them.  And  if  you  will  believe  me,  Mr.  Leigh, 
that  was  none  other  than  the  old  man  with  the  gold 
falcon  at  his  breast,  Don  Francisco  Xararte  by  name, 
whom  you  found  aboard  of  the  Lima  ship.  And  had 
you  known  as  much  of  him  as  I  do,  or  as  Mr.  Oxenham 
did  either,  you  had  cut  him  up  for  shark's  bait,  or 
ever  you  let  the  cur  ashore  again. 

"  Well,  sirs,  as  soon  as  the  lady  came  to  shore,  that 
old  man  ran  upon  her  sword  in  hand,  and  would  have 
slain  her,  but  some  there  held  him  back.  On  which 
he  turned  to,  and  reviled  with  every  foul  and  spiteful 
word  which  he  could  think  of,  so  that  some  there  bade 
him  be  silent  for  shame ;  and  Mr.  Oxenham  said,  '  It 
is  worthy  of  you,  Don  Francisco,  thus  to  trumpet 


238  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

abroad  your  own  disgrace.  Did  I  not  tell  you  years 
ago  that  you  were  a  cur ;  and  are  you  not  proving  my 
words  for  meV 

"  He  answered,  '  English  dog,  would  to  Heaven  I 
had  never  seen  you  ! ' 

"And  Mr.  Oxenham,  *  Spanish  ape,  would  to 
Heaven  that  I  had  sent  my  dagger  through  your  her- 
ring-ribs when  you  past  me  behind  St.  Ildegonde's 
church,  eight  years  last  Easter-eve.'  At  which  the 
old  man  turned  pale,  and  then  began  again  to  upbraid 
the  lady,  vowing  that  he  would  have  her  burnt  alive, 
and  other  devilish  words,  to  which  she  answered  at 
last — 

"'Would  that  you  had  burnt  me  alive  on  my  wed- 
ding morning,  and  spared  me  eight  years  of  misery ! ' 
And  he — 

"  *  Misery  ?  Hear  the  witch,  Senors !  Oh,  have  I 
not  pampered  her,  heaped  with  jewels,  clothes,  coaches, 
what  not  1  The  saints  alone  know  what  I  have  spent 
on  her.     What  more  would  she  have  of  me  f 

"  To  which  she  answered  only  but  this  one  word, 
'  Fool ! '  but  in  so  terrible  a  voice,  though  low,  that 
they  who  were  about  to  laugh  at  the  old  pantaloon, 
were  more  minded  to  weep  for  her. 

"'Fool!'  she  said  again,  after  a  while,  'I  will 
waste  no  words  upon  you.  I  would  have  driven  a 
dagger  to  your  heart  months  ago,  but  that  I  was  loth 
to  set  you  free  so  soon  from  your  gout  and  your 
rheumatism.  Selfish  and  stupid,  know  when  you 
bought  my  body  from  my  parents,  you  did  not  buy 
my  soul !     Farewell,  my  love,  my  life !  and  farewell. 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  239 

Senors  !  May  you  be  more  merciful  to  your  daughters 
than  my  parents  were  to  me ! '  And  so,  catching  a 
dagger  from  the  girdle  of  one  of  the  soldiers,  smote 
herself  to  the  heart,  and  fell  dead  before  them  all. 

"  At  which  Mr.  Oxenham  smiled,  and  said,  '  That 
was  worthy  of  us  both.  If  you  will  unbind  my  hands, 
Seiiors,  T  shall  be  most  happy  to  copy  so  fair  a  school- 
mistress.' 

"  But  Don  Diego  shook  his  head,  and  said, 

" '  It  were  well  for  you,  valiant  Seiior,  were  I  at 
liberty  to  do  so;  but  on  questioning  those  of  your 
sailors,  whom  I  have  already  taken,  I  cannot  hear 
that  you  have  any  letters  of  licence,  either  from  the 
Queen  of  England,  or  any  other  potentate.  I  am 
compelled,  therefore,  to  ask  you,  whether  this  is  so ; 
for  it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death.' 

"  To  which  Mr.  Oxenham  answered  merrily,  '  That 
so  it  was  :  but  that  he  was  not  aware  that  any  poten- 
tate's licence  was  required  to  permit  a  gentleman's 
meeting  his  lady  love ;  and  that  as  for  the  gold  which 
they  had  taken,  if  they  had  never  allowed  that  fresh 
and  fair  young  May  to  be  forced  into  marrying  that 
old  January,  he  should  never  have  meddled  with 
their  gold;  so  that  was  rather  their  fault  than  his.' 
And  added,  that  if  he  was  to  be  hanged,  as  he  sup- 
posed, the  only  favour  which  he  asked  for  was  a  long 
drop  and  no  priests.  And  all  the  while,  gentlemen, 
he  still  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  lady's  corpse,  till  he 
was  led  away  with  me,  while  all  that  stood  by,  God 
reward  them  for  it,  lamented  openly  the  tragical  end 
of  those  two  sinful  lovers. 


240  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

"And  now,  sirs,  what  befell  me  after  that  matters 
little;  for  I  never  saw  Captain  Oxenham  again,  nor 
ever  shall  in  this  life." 

"He  was  hanged,  theni" 

"  So  I  heard  for  certain  the  next  year,  and  with 
him  the  gunner  and  sundry  more  :  but  some  were 
given  away  for  slaves  to  the  Spaniards,  and  may  be 
alive  now,  unless,  like  me,  they  have  fallen  into  the 
cruel  clutches  of  the  Inquisition.  For  the  Inquisition 
now,  gentlemen,  claims  the  bodies  and  souls  of  all 
heretics  all  over  the  world  (as  the  devils  told  me  with 
their  own  lips,  when  I  pleaded  that  I  was  no  Spanish 
subject) ;  and  none  that  it  catches,  whether  peaceable 
merchants,  or  shipwrecked  mariners,  but  must  turn 
or  bum." 

"But  how  did  you  get  into  the  Inquisition?" 

"Why,  sir,  after  we  were  taken,  we  set  forth  to 
go  down  the  river  again ;  and  the  old  Don  took  the 
little  maid  with  him  in  one  boat  (and  bitterly  she 
screeched  at  parting  from  us,  and  from  the  poor  dead 
corpse),  and  Mr.  Oxenham  with  Don  Diego  de  Trees 
in  another,  and  I  in  a  third.  And  from  the  Spaniards 
I  learnt  that  we  were  to  be  taken  down  to  Lima,  to 
the  Viceroy:  but  that  the  old  man  lived  hard  by 
Panama,  and  was  going  straight  back  to  Panama 
forthwith  with  the  little  maid.  But  they  said,  'It 
will  be  well  for  her  if  she  ever  gets  there,  for  the  old 
man  swears  she  is  none  of  his,  and  would  have  left 
her  behind  him  in  the  woods,  now,  if  Don  Diego  had 
not  shamed  him  out  of  it.'  And  when  I  heard  that^ 
seeing  that  there  was  nothing  but  death  before  me,  I 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXKNHAM.  241 

made  up  my  mind  to  escape  ;  and  the  very  first  night, 
sirs,  by  God's  help,  I  did  it,  and  went  southward 
away  into  the  forest,  avoiding  the  tracks  of  the 
Cimaroons,  till  I  came  to  an  Indian  town.  And 
there,  gentlemen,  I  got  more  mercy  from  heathens 
than  ever  I  had  from  Christians;  for  when  they  found 
that  I  was  no  Spaniard,  they  fed  me  and  gave  me  a 
house,  and  a  wife  (and  a  good  wife  she  was  to  me), 
and  painted  me  all  over  in  patterns,  as  you  see ;  and 
because  I  had  some  knowledge  of  surgery  and  blood- 
letting, and  my  fleams  in  my  pocket,  which  were 
worth  to  me  a  fortune,  I  rose  to  great  honour  among 
them,  though  they  taught  me  more  of  simples  than 
ever  I  taught  them  of  surgery.  So  I  hved  with  them 
merrily  enough,  being  a  very  heathen  like  them,  or 
indeed  worse,  for  they  worshipped  their  Xemes,  but  I 
nothing.  And  in  time  my  wife  bare  me  a  child ;  in 
looking  at  whose  sweet  face,  gentlemen,  I  forgot  Mr. 
Oxenham  and  his  little  maid,  and  my  oath,  ay,  and 
my  native  land  also.  Wherefore  it  was  taken  from 
me,  else  had  I  lived  and  died  as  the  beasts  which 
perish ;  for  one  night,  after  we  were  all  lain  down, 
came  a  noise  outside  the  town,  and  I  starting  up  saw 
armed  men  and  calivers  shining  in  the  moonlight,  and 
heard  one  read  in  Spanish,  with  a  loud  voice,  some 
fool's  sermon,  after  their  custom  when  they  hunt  the 
poor  Indians,  how  God  had  given  to  St.  Peter  the 
dominion  of  the  whole  earth,  and  St.  Peter  again  the 
Indies  to  the  Catholic  king ;  wherefore,  if  they  would 
all  be  baptized  and  serve  the  Spaniard,  they  should 
have  some  monkey's  allowance  or  other  of  more  kicks 

VOL.  I.  R  w.  H. 


242  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

than  pence ;  and  if  not,  then  have  at  them  with  fire 
and  sword ;  but  I  dare  say  your  worships  know  that 
deviHsh  trick  of  theirs  better  than  I." 

"I  know  it,  man.     Go  on." 

"Well — no  sooner  were  the  words  spoken,  than, 
without  waiting  to  hear  what  the  poor  innocents 
within  would  answer  (though  that  mattered  little, 
for  they  understood  not  one  word  of  it),  what  do  the 
villains  but  let  fly  right  into  the  town  with  their 
calivers,  and  then  rush  in,  sword  in  hand,  killing  pell- 
mell  all  they  met,  one  of  which  shots,  gentlemen, 
passing  through  the  doorway,  and  close  by  me,  struck 
my  poor  wife  to  the  heart,  that  she  never  spoke  word 
more.  I,  catching  up  the  babe  from  her  breast,  tried 
to  run :  but  when  I  saw  the  town  full  of  them,  and 
their  dogs  with  them  in  leashes,  which  was  yet  worse, 
I  knew  all  was  lost,  and  sat  down  again  by  the  corpse 
with  the  babe  on  my  knees,  waiting  the  end,  like  one 
stunned  and  in  a  dream ;  for  now  I  thought  God  from 
whom  I  had  fled  had  surely  found  me  out,  as  he  did 
Jonah,  and  the  punishment  of  all  my  sins  was  come. 
Well,  gentlemen,  they  dragged  me  out,  and  all  the 
young  men  and  women,  and  chained  us  together  by 
the  neck ;  and  one,  catching  the  pretty  babe  out  of 
my  arms,  calls  for  water  and  a  priest  (for  they  had 
their  shavelings  with  them),  and  no  sooner  was  it 
christened,  than,  catching  the  babe  by  the  heels,  he 
dashed  out  its  brains, — oh  !  gentlemen,  gentlemen  ! — 
against  the  ground,  as  if  it  had  been  a  kitten ;  and  so 
did  they  to  several  more  innocents  that  night,  after 
they  had   christened   them;  saying  it  was  best  for 


OF  MK.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  243 

them  to  go  to  heaven  while  they  were  still  sure 
thereof ;  and  so  marched  us  all  for  slaves,  leaving  the 
old  folk  and  the  wounded  to  die  at  leisure.  But 
when  morning  came,  and  they  knew  by  my  skin  that 
I  was  no  Indian,  and  by  my  speech  that  I  was  no 
Spaniard,  they  began  threatening  me  with  torments, 
till  I  confessed  that  I  was  an  Englishman,  and  one  of 
Oxenham's  crew.  At  that  says  the  leader,  'Then 
you  shall  to  Lima,  to  hang  by  the  side  of  your 
Captain  the  pirate ;  by  which  I  first  knew  that  my 
poor  Captain  was  certainly  gone ;  but  alas  for  me !  the 
priest  steps  in  and  claims  me  for  his  booty,  calling  me 
Lutheran,  heretic,  and  enemy  of  God;  and  so,  to 
make  short  a  sad  story,  to  the  Inquisition  at  Cartha- 
gena  I  went,  where  what  I  suffered,  gentlemen,  were 
as  disgustful  for  you  to  hear,  as  unmanly  for  me  to 
complain  of ;  but  so  it  was,  that  being  twice  racked, 
and  having  endured  the  water-torment  as  best  I  could, 
I  was  put  to  the  scarpines,  whereof  I  am,  as  you  see, 
somewhat  lame  of  one  leg  to  this  day.  At  which  I 
could  abide  no  more,  and  so,  wretch  that  I  am ! 
denied  my  God,  in  hope  to  save  my  life ;  which  indeed 
I  did,  but  little  it  profited  me ;  for  though  I  had 
turned  to  their  superstition,  I  must  have  two  hundred 
stripes  in  the  public  place,  and  then  go  to  the  galleys 
for  seven  years.  And  there,  gentlemen,  ofttimes  I 
thought  that  it  had  been  better  for  me  to  have  been 
burned  at  once  and  for  all :  but  you  know  as  well  as 
I  what  a  floating  hell  of  heat  and  cold,  hunger  and 
thirst,  stripes  and  toil,  is  every  one  of  those  accursed 
craft.     In  which  hell,  nevertheless,  gentlemen,  I  found 


244  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

the  road  to  heaven, — I  had  almost  said  heaven  itself. 
For  it  fell  out,  by  God's  mercy,  that  my  next  comrade 
was  an  Englishman  like  myself,  a  young  man  of  Bristol, 
who,  as  he  told  me,  had  been  some  manner  of  factor 
on  board  poor  Captain  Barker's  ship,  and  had  been  a 
preacher  among  the  Anabaptists  here  in  England. 
And,  oh  !  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  if  that  man  had  done 
for  you  what  he  did  for  me,  you  would  never  say  a 
word  against  those  who  serve  the  same  Lord,  because 
they  don't  altogether  hold  with  you.  For  from  time 
to  time,  sir,  seeing  me  altogether  despairing  and 
furious,  like  a  wild  beast  in  a  pit,  he  set  before  me  in 
secret  earnestly  the  sweet  promises  of  God  in  Christ, 
— who  says,  'Come  to  me,  all  ye  that  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  refresh  you ;  and  though  your  sins  be  as 
scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow,' — till  all  that 
past  sinful  life  of  mine  looked  like  a  dream  when  one 
awaketh,  and  I  forgot  all  my  bodily  miseries  in  the 
misery  of  my  soul,  so  did  I  loathe  and  hate  myself  for 
my  rebellion  against  that  loving  God  who  had  chosen 
me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  come  to 
seek  and  save  me  when  I  was  lost :  and  falling  into 
very  despair  at  the  burden  of  my  heinous  sins,  knew 
no  peace  until  I  gained  sweet  assurance  that  my  Lord 
had  hanged  my  burden  upon  His  cross,  and  washed 
my  sinful  soul  in  His  most  sinless  blood,  Amen  !" 

And  Sir  Richard  Grenvile  said  Amen  also. 

"  But,  gentlemen,  if  that  sweet  youth  won  a  soul 
to  Christ,  he  paid  as  dearly  for  it  as  ever  did  saint  of 
God.  For  after  a  three  or  four  months,  when  I  had 
been  all  that  while  in  sweet  converse  with  him,  and  I 


OF  MK.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  245 

may  say  in  heaven  in  the  midst  of  hell,  there  came 
one  night  to  the  barranco  at  Lima,  where  we  were 
kept  when  on  shore,  three  black  devils  of  the  Holy 
Office,  and  carried  him  off  without  a  word,  only  saying 
to  me,  *  Look  that  your  turn  come  not  next,  for  we 
hear  that  you  have  had  much  talk  with  the  villain.' 
And  at  these  words  I  was  so  struck  cold  with  terror 
that  I  swooned  right  away,  and  verily,  if  they  had 
taken  me  there  and  then,  I  should  have  denied  my 
God  again,  for  my  faith  was  but  young  and  weak : 
but  instead,  they  left  me  aboard  the  galley  for  a  few 
months  more  (that  was  a  whole  voyage  to  Panama 
and  back),  in  daily  dread  lest  I  should  find  myself  in 
their  cruel  claws  again — and  then  nothing  for  me,  but 
to  burn  as  a  relapsed  heretic.  But  when  we  came 
back  to  Lima,  the  officers  came  on  board  again,  and 
said  to  me,  '  That  heretic  has  confessed  nought  against 
you,  so  we  will  leave  you  for  this  time  :  but  because 
you  have  been  seen  talking  with  him  so  much,  and 
the  Holy  Office  suspects  your  conversion  to  be  but  a 
rotten  one,  you  are  adjudged  to  the  galleys  for  the 
rest  of  your  life  in  perpetual  servitude.' " 

"But  what  became  of  himi"  asked  Amyas. 

"  He  was  burned,  sir,  a  day  or  two  before  we  got 
to  Lima,  and  five  others  with  him  at  the  same  stake, 
of  whom  two  were  Englishmen ;  old  comrades  of  mine, 
as  I  guess." 

"Ah!"  said  Amyas,  "we  heard  of  that  when  we 
were  off  Lima ;  and  they  said  too,  that  there  were  six 
more  lying  still  in  prison,  to  be  burnt  in  a  few  days. 
If  we  had  had  our  fleet  with  us  (as  we  should  have 


246  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

had  if  it  had  not  been  for  John  Winter)  we  would 
have  gone  in  and  rescued  them  all,  poor  wretches,  and 
sacked  the  town  to  boot :  but  what  could  we  do  with 
one  shipl" 

"  Would  to  God  you  had,  sir ;  for  the  story  was 
true  enough;  and  among  them,  I  heard,  were  two 
young  ladies  of  quality  and  their  confessor,  who  came 
to  their  ends  for  reproving  out  of  Scripture  the  filthy 
and  loathsome  living  of  those  parts,  which,  as  I  saw 
well  enough  and  too  well,  is  liker  to  Sodom  than  to 
a  Christian  town;  but  God  will  avenge  His  saints, 
and  their  sins.     Amen." 

"  Amen,"  said  Sir  Eichard :  "  but  on  with  thy  tale, 
for  it  is  as  strange  as  ever  man  heard." 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  when  I  heard  that  I  must  end 
my  days  in  that  galley,  I  was  for  awhile  like  a  mad- 
man :  but  in  a  day  or  two  there  came  over  me,  I  know 
not  how,  a  full  assurance  of  salvation,  both  for  this 
life  and  the  hfe  to  come,  such  as  I  had  never  had 
before ;  and  it  was  revealed  to  me  (I  speak  the  truth 
gentlemen,  before  Heaven)  that  now  I  had  been  tried 
to  the  uttermost,  and  that  my  deHverance  was  at 
hand. 

"  And  all  the  way  up  to  Panama  (that  was  after 
we  had  laden  the  '  Cacafuogo')  I  cast  in  my  mind  how 
to  escape,  and  found  no  way :  but  just  as  I  was 
beginning  to  lose  heart  again,  a  door  was  opened  by 
the  Lord's  own  hand ;  for  (I  know  not  why)  we  were 
marched  across  from  Panama  to  Nombre,  which  had 
never  happened  before,  and  there  put  all  together 
into  a  great  barranco  close  by  the  quay-side,  shackled 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  247 

as  is  the  fashion,  to  one  long  bar  that  ran  the  whole 
length  of  the  house.  And  the  very  first  night  that 
we  were  there,  I,  looking  out  of  the  window,  spied, 
lying  close  aboard  of  the  quay,  a  good-sized  caravel 
well  armed  and  just  loading  for  sea;  and  the  land 
breeze  blew  off  very  strong,  so  that  the  sailors  were 
laying  out  a  fresh  warp  to  hold  her  to  the  shore. 
And  it  came  into  my  mind,  that  if  we  were  aboard  of 
her,  we  should  be  at  sea  in  five  minutes ;  and  looking 
at  the  quay,  I  saw  all  the  soldiers  who  had  guarded 
us  scattered  about  drinking  and  gambling,  and  some 
going  into  taverns  to  refresh  themselves  after  their 
journey.  That  was  just  at  sundown;  and  half  an 
hour  after,  in  comes  the  gaoler  to  take  a  last  look  at 
us  for  the  night,  and  his  keys  at  his  girdle.  Whereon, 
sirs  (whether  by  madness,  or  whether  by  the  spirit 
which  gave  Samson  strength  to  rend  the  lion),  I  rose 
against  him  as  he  passed  me,  without  forethought  or 
treachery  of  any  kind,  chained  though  I  was,  caught 
him  by  the  head,  and  threw  him  there  and  then 
against  the  wall,  that  he  never  spoke  word  after ;  and 
then  with  his  keys  freed  myself  and  every  soul  in  that 
room,  and  bid  them  follow  me,  vowing  to  kill  any 
man  who  disobeyed  my  commands.  They  followed, 
as  men  astounded  and  leaping  out  of  night  into  day, 
and  death  into  life,  and  so  aboard  that  caravel  and 
out  of  the  harbour  (the  Lord  only  knows  how,  who 
blinded  the  eyes  of  the  idolaters),  with  no  more  hurt 
than  a  few  chance -shot  from  the  soldiers  on  the 
quay.  But  my  tale  has  been  over -long  already, 
gentlemen " 


248  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

"Go  on  till  midnight,  my  good  fellow,  if  j-ou  will." 
"Well,  sirs,  they  chose  me  for  Captain,  and  a 
certain  Genoese  for  lieutenant,  and  away  to  go.  I 
Vvould  fain  have  gone  ashore  after  all,  and  back  to 
Panama  to  hear  news  of  the  little  maid:  but  that 
Would  have  been  but  a  fool's  errand.  Some  wanted 
to  turn  pirates  :  but  I,  and  the  Genoese  too,  who  was 
a  prudent  man,  though  an  evil  one,  persuaded  them 
to  run  for  England  and  get  employment  in  the 
Netherland  wars,  assuring  them  that  there  would  be 
no  safety  in  the  Spanish  main,  when  once  our  escape 
got  wind.  And  the  more  part  being  of  one  mind,  for 
England  we  sailed,  watering  at  the  Barbadoes  because 
it  was  desolate ;  and  so  eastward  toward  the  Canaries. 
In  which  voyage  what  we  endured  (being  taken  by 
long  calms),  by  scurvy,  calentures,  hunger,  and  thirst, 
no  tongue  can  tell.  Many  a  time  were  we  glad  to 
lay  out  sheets  at  night  to  catch  the  dew,  and  suck 
them  in  the  morning ;  and  he  that  had  a  noggin  of 
rain-water  out  of  the  scuppers  was  as  much  sought  to 
as  if  he  had  been  Adelantado  of  all  the  Indies ;  till  of 
a  hundred  and  forty  poor  wi'etches  a  hundred  and  ten 
were  dead,  blaspheming  God  and  man,  and  above  all, 
me  and  the  Genoese  for  taking  the  Europe  voyage,  as 
if  I  had  not  sins  enough  of  my  own  already.  And 
last  of  all,  when  we  thought  ourselves  safe,  we  were 
wrecked  by  south-westers  on  the  coast  of  Brittany, 
near  to  Cape  Eace,  from  which  but  nine  souls  of  us 
came  ashore  with  their  lives ;  and  so  to  Brest,  where 
I  found  a  Flushinger  who  carried  me  to  Falmouth ; 
and  so  ends  my  tale,  in  which  if  I  have  said  one  word 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  249 

more  or  less  than  truth,  I  can  wish  myself  no  worse, 
than  to  have  it  all  to  undergo  a  second  time." 

And  his  voice,  as  he  finished,  sank  from  very  weari- 
ness of  soul ;  while  Sir  Eichard  sat  opposite  him  in 
silence,  his  elbows  on  the  table,  his  cheeks  on  his 
doubled  fists,  looking  him  through  and  through  with 
kindling  eyes.  No  one  spoke  for  several  minutes; 
and  then — 

"  Amyas,  you  have  heard  this  story  1  You  believe 
it?" 

"  Every  word,  sir,  or  I  should  not  have  the  heart 
of  a  Christian  man." 

"So  do  I.     Anthony!" 

The  butler  entered. 

"  Take  this  man  to  the  buttery ;  clothe  him  com- 
fortably, and  feed  him  with  the  best;  and  bid  the 
knaves  treat  him  as  if  he  were  their  own  father." 

But  Yeo  lingered. 

"  If  I  might  be  so  bold  as  to  ask  your  worship  a 
favour  1 " 

"Anything  in  reason,  my  brave  fellow." 

"If  your  worship  could  jmt  me  in  the  way  of 
another  adventure  to  the  Indies?" 

"  Another  !  Hast  not  had  enough  of  the  Spaniards 
already?" 

"Never  enough,  sir,  while  one  of  the  idolatrous 
tyrants  is  left  unhanged,"  said  he,  with  a  right  bitter 
smile.  "  But  it's  not  for  that  only,  sir :  but  my  little 
maid — Oh,  sir !  my  little  maid,  that  I  swore  to  Mr. 
Oxenham  to  look  to,  and  never  saw  her  from  that 
day  to  this  !     I  must  find  her,  sir,  or  I  shall  go  mad, 


250  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

I  believe.  Not  a  night  but  she  comes  and  calls  to 
me  in  my  dreams,  the  poor  darling;  and  not  a 
morning  but  when  I  wake  there  is  my  oath  Ijdng  on 
my  soul,  like  a  great  black  cloud,  and  I  no  nearer 
the  keeping  of  it.  I  told  that  poor  young  minister  of 
it  when  we  were  in  the  galleys  together ;  and  he  said 
oaths  were  oaths,  and  keep  it  I  must ;  and  keep  it  I 
will,  sir,  if  you'll  but  help  me. 

"  Have  patience,  man.  God  will  take  as  good  care 
of  thy  little  maid  as  ever  thou  wilt." 

"  I  know  it,  sir.  I  know  it :  but  faith's  weak,  sir ! 
and  oh  !  if  she  were  bred  up  a  Papist  and  an  idolater ; 
wouldn't  her  blood  be  on  my  head  then,  sir  1  Sooner 
than  that,  sooner  than  that,  I'd  be  in  the  Inquisition 
again  to-morrow,  I  would  !" 

"  My  good  fellow,  there  are  no  adventures  to  the 
Indies  forward  now :  but  if  you  want  to  fight  Spaniards, 
here  is  a  gentleman  will  show  you  the  way.  Amyas, 
take  him  with  you  to  Ireland.  If  he  has  learnt  half 
the  lessons  God  has  set  him  to  learn,  he  ought  to 
stand  you  in  good  stead." 

Yeo  looked  eagerly  at  the  young  giant. 

"Will  you  have  me,  sir'?  There's  few  matters  I 
can't  turn  my  hand  to  :  and  maybe  you'll  be  going  to 
the  Indies  again,  some  day,  eh?  and  take  me  with 
you  •?  I'd  serve  your  turn  well,  though  I  say  it,  either 
for  gunner  or  for  pilot.  I  know  every  stone  and  tree 
from  Nombre  to  Panama,  and  all  the  ports  of  both 
the  seas.  You'll  never  be  content,  I'll  warrant,  till 
you've  had  another  turn  along  the  gold  coasts,  will 
you  now?" 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  251 

Amyas  laughed,  and  nodded;  and  the  bargain 
was  concluded. 

So  out  went  Yeo  to  eat,  and  Amyas  having 
received  his  despatches,  got  ready  for  his  journey 
home. 

"  Go  the  short  way  over  the  moors,  lad ;  and  send 
back  Gary's  grey  when  you  can.  You  must  not  lose 
an  hour,  but  be  ready  to  sail  the  moment  the  wind 
goes  about." 

So  they  started :  but  as  Amyas  was  getting  into 
the  saddle,  he  saw  that  there  was  some  stir  among  the 
servants,  who  seemed  to  keep  carefully  out  of  Yeo's 
way,  whispering  and  nodding  mysteriously ;  and  just 
as  his  foot  was  in  the  stirrup,  Anthony,  the  old  butler, 
plucked  him  back. 

"  Dear  father  alive,  Mr.  Amyas, ! "  whispered  he  : 
"  and  you  ben't  going  by  the  moor  road  all  alone  with 
that  chap  f 

"Why  not,  theni  I'm  too  big  for  him  to  eat,  I 
reckon." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Amyas !  he's  not  right,  I  tell  you ;  not 
company  for  a  Christian — to  go  forth  with  creatures 
as  has  flames  of  fire  in  their  inwards ;  'tis  temptation 
of  Providence,  indeed,  then,  it  is." 

"Tale  of  a  tub." 

"Tale  of  a  Christian,  sir.  There  was  two  boys 
pig-minding,  seed  him  at  it  down  the  hill,  beside  a 
maiden  that  was  taken  mazed  (and  no  wonder,  poor 
soul !)  and  lying  in  screeching  asterisks  now  down 
to  the  mill — you  ask  as  you  go  by — and  saw  the 
flames  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  mun,  and  the  smoke 


L 


252  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

out  of  mun's  nose  like  a  vire-drake,  and  the  roaring 
of  mun  like  the  roaring  of  ten  thousand  bulls.  Oh, 
sir !  and  to  go  with  he  after  dark  over  moor !  'Tis 
the  devil's  devices,  sir,  against  you,  because  you'ni 
going  against  his  sarvants  the  Pope  of  Room  and  the 
Spaniard;  and  you'll  be  Pixy-led,  sure  as  life,  and 
locked  into  a  bog,  you  will,  and  see  mun  vanish  away 
to  fire  and  brimstone,  like  a  jack-o'-lantern.  Oh,  have 
a  care,  then,  have  a  care  ! " 

And  the  old  man  wrung  his  hands,  while  Amyas, 
bursting  with  laughter,  rode  off  down  the  park,  with 
the  unconscious  Yeo  at  his  stirrup,  chatting  away  about 
the  Indies,  and  delighting  Amyas  more  and  more  by 
his  shrewdness,  high  spirit,  and  rough  eloquence. 

They  had  gone  ten  miles  or  more ;  the  day  began 
to  draw  in,  and  the  western  wind  to  sweep  more  cold 
and  cheerless  every  moment,  when  Amyas,  knowing 
that  there  was  not  an  inn  hard  by  around  for  many  a 
mile  ahead,  took  a  pull  at  a  certain  bottle  which  Lady 
Grenvile  had  put  into  his  holster,  and  then  offered 
Yeo  a  pull  also. 

He  declined;  he  had  meat  and  drink  too  about 
him.  Heaven  be  praised ! 

"Meat  and  drink?  fall  to  then,  man,  and  don't 
stand  on  manners." 

Whereon  Yeo,  seeing  an  old  decayed  willow  by  a 
brook,  went  to  it,  and  took  therefrom  some  touchwood, 
to  which  he  set  a  light  with  his  knife  and  a  stone,  while 
Amyas  watched,  a  little  puzzled  and  startled,  as  Yeo's 
fiery  reputation  came  into  his  mind.  Was  he  really 
a  Salamander-Sprite,  and  going  to  warm  his  inside  by 


OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  253 

a  meal  of  burning  tinder  1  But  now  Yeo,  in  his  solemn 
methodical  way,  pulled  out  of  his  bosom  a  brown  leaf, 
and  began  rolling  a  piece  of  it  up  neatly  to  the  size  of 
his  little  finger ;  and  then,  putting  the  one  end  into 
his  mouth  and  the  other  on  the  tinder,  sucked  at  it 
till  it  was  a-light;  and  drinking  down  the  smoke, 
began  puffing  it  out  again  at  his  nostrils  with  a  grimt 
of  deepest  satisfaction,  and  resumed  his  dog-trot  by 
Amyas's  side,  as  if  he  had  been  a  walking  chimney. 

On  which  Amyas  burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  and  cried, 

"Why,  no  wonder  they  said  you  breathed  fire? 
Is  not  that  the  Indians'  tobacco?" 

"Yea,  verily.  Heaven  be  praised!  but  did  you 
never  see  it  before  f 

"  Never,  though  we  heard  talk  of  it  along  the  coast; 
but  we  took  it  for  one  more  Spanish  lie.  Humph — 
well,  live  and  learn  ! " 

"  Ah,  sir,  no  lie,  but  a  blessed  truth,  as  I  can  tell, 
who  have  ere  now  gone  in  the  strength  of  this  weed 
three  days  and  nights  without  eating ;  and  therefore, 
sir,  the  Indians  always  carry  it  with  them  on  their 
war-parties :  and  no  wonder ;  for  when  all  things  were 
made  none  was  made  better  than  this ;  to  be  a  lone 
man's  companion,  a  bachelor's  friend,  a  hungry  man's 
food,  a  sad  man's  cordial,  a  wakeful  man's  sleep,  and 
a  chilly  man's  fire,  sir ;  while  for  stanching  of  wounds, 
purging  of  rheum,  and  settling  of  the  stomach,  there's 
no  herb  like  unto  it  under  the  canopy  of  heaven." 

The  truth  of  which  eulogium  Amyas  tested  in  after 
years,  as  shall  be  fully  set  forth  in  due  place  and  time. 
But  "  Mark  in  the  meanwhile,"  says  one  of  the  vera- 


254  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY 

cious  chroniclers  from  whom  I  draw  these  facts,  writing 
seemingly  in  the  palmy  days  of  good  Queen  Anne, 
and  "not  having"  (as  he  says)  "before  his  eyes  the 
fear  of  that  misocapnic  Solomon  James  I.  or  of  any 
other  lying  Stuart,"  "  that  not  to  South  Devon,  but 
to  North;  not  to  Sir  Walter  Ealeigh,  but  to  Sir 
Amyas  Leigh ;  not  to  the  banks  of  Dart,  but  to  the 
banks  of  Torridge,  does  Europe  owe  the  day-spring  of 
the  latter  age,  that  age  of  smoke  which  shall  endure 
and  thrive,  when  the  age  of  brass  shall  have  vanished 
like  those  of  iron  and  of  gold ;  for  whereas  Mr.  Lane 
is  said  to  have  brought  home  that  divine  weed  (as 
Spenser  well  names  it)  from  Virginia  in  the  year 
1584,  it  is  hereby  indisputable  that  full  four  years 
earlier,  by  the  bridge  of  Putford  in  the  Torridge 
moors  (which  all  true  smokers  shall  hereafter  visit  as 
a  hallowed  spot  and  point  of  pilgrimage)  first  twinkled 
that  fiery  beacon  and  beneficent  lodestar  of  Bidef ordian 
commerce,  to  spread  hereafter  from  port  to  port  and 
peak  to  peak,  like  the  watch-fires  which  proclaimed 
the  coming  of  the  Armada  or  the  fall  of  Troy,  even 
to  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  the  peaks  of  the 
Caucasus,  and  the  farthest  isles  of  the  Malayan  sea ; 
while  Bideford,  metropolis  of  tobacco,  saw  her  Pool 
choked  with  Virginian  traders,  and  the  pavement  of 
her  Bridgeland  Street  groaning  beneath  the  savoury 
bales  of  roll  Trinadado,  leaf,  and  pudding;  and  her 
grave  burghers,  bolstered  and  blocked  out  of  their 
own  houses  by  the  scarce  less  savoury  stock-fish  casks 
which  filled  cellar,  parlour,  and  attic,  were  fain  to  sit 
outside  the  door,  a  silver  pipe  in  every  strong  right 


OF  ME.  JOHN  OXENHAM.  255 

hand,  and  each  left  hand  chinking  cheerfully  the 
doubloons  deep  lodged  in  the  auriferous  caverns  of 
their  trunkhose ;  while  in  those  fairy-rings  of  fragrant 
mist,  which  circled  round  their  contemplative  brows, 
flitted  most  pleasant  visions  of  Wiltshire  farmers 
jogging  into  Sherborne  fair,  their  heaviest  shillings  in 
their  pockets,  to  buy  (unless  old  Aubrey  lies)  the 
lotus-leaf  of  Torridge  for  its  weight  in  silver,  and 
draw  from  thence,  after  the  example  of  the  Caciques 
of  Dariena,  supplies  of  inspiration  much  needed,  then 
as  now,  in  those  Gothamite  regions.  And  yet  did 
these  improve,  as  Englishmen,  upon  the  method  of 
those  heathen  savages;  for  the  latter  (so  Salvation 
Yeo  reported  as  a  truth,  and  Dampier's  surgeon  Mr. 
Wafer  after  him),  when  they  will  deliberate  of  war  or 
policy,  sit  round  in  the  hut  of  the  chief ;  where  being 
placed,  enter  to  them  a  small  boy  with  a  cigarro  of 
the  bigness  of  a  rolling-pin,  and  puffs  the  smoke 
thereof  into  the  face  of  each  warrior,  from  the  eldest 
to  the  youngest  ;  while  they,  putting  their  hand 
funnel-"vvise  round  their  mouths,  draw  into  the  sinuo- 
sities of  the  brain  that  more  than  Delphic  vapour  of 
prophecy ;  which  boy  presently  falls  down  in  a  swoon, 
and  being  dragged  out  by  the  heels  and  laid  by  to 
sober,  enter  another  to  puff  at  the  sacred  cigarro,  till 
he  is  dragged  out  likewise ;  and  so  on  till  the  tobacco 
is  finished,  and  the  seed  of  wisdom  has  sprouted  in 
every  soul  into  the  tree  of  meditation,  bearing  the 
flowers  of  eloquence,  and  in  due  time  the  fruit  of 
valiant  action."  With  which  quaint  fact  (for  fact  it 
is,  in  spite  of  the  bombast)  I  end  the  present  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  THE  ROSE 
WAS  FOUNDED. 

"  It  is  virtue,  yea  virtue,  gentlemen,  tliat  maketli  gentlemen  ; 
that  maketh  the  poor  rich,  the  base-horn  noble,  the  subject 
a  sovereign,  the  deformed  beautiful,  the  sick  whole,  the  weak 
strong,  the  most  miserable  most  happy.  There  are  two 
principal  and  peculiar  gifts  in  the  nature  of  man,  knowledge 
and  reason ;  the  one  commandeth,  and  the  other  obeyeth : 
these  things  neither  the  whirling  wheel  of  fortune  can  change, 
neither  the  deceitful  cavillings  of  worldlings  separate,  neither 
sickness  abate,  neither  age  abolish."— Lilly's  Euphues,  1586. 

It  now  falls  to  my  lot  to  write  of  the  foundation  of 
that  most  chivalrous  brotherhood  of  the  Rose,  which 
after  a  few  years  made  itself  not  only  famous  in  its 
native  county  of  Devon,  but  fonnidable,  as  will  be 
related  hereafter,  both  in  Ireland  and  in  the  Nether- 
lands, in  the  Spanish  Main  and  the  heart  of  South 
America.  And  if  this  chapter  shall  seem  to  any 
Quixotic  and  fantastical,  let  them  recollect  that  the 
generation  who  spoke  and  acted  thus  in  matters  of 
love  and  honour  were,  nevertheless,  practised  and 
valiant  soldiers,  and  prudent  and  crafty  politicians; 
that  he  who  -wrote  the  Arcadia  was  at  the  same  time, 
in  spite  of  his  youth,  one  of  the  subtlest  diplomatists 
of  Europe;  that  the  poet  of  the  Faery  Queene  was 


THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  THE  ROSE.       257 

also  the  author  of  The  State  of  Ireland ;  and  if  they 
shall  quote  against  me  with  a  sneer  Lilly's  Euphues 
itself,  I  shall  only  answer  by  asking — Have  they  ever 
read  it?  For  if  they  have  done  so,  I  pity  them  if 
they  have  not  found  it,  in  spite  of  occasional  tedious- 
ness  and  pedantry,  as  brave,  righteous,  and  pious  a 
book  as  man  need  look  into ;  and  wish  for  no  better 
proof  of  the  nobleness  and  virtue  of  the  Elizabethan 
age,  than  the  fact  that  "Euphues"  and  the  "Arcadia" 
were  the  two  popular  romances  of  the  day.  It  may 
have  suited  the  purposes  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his 
cleverly  drawn  Sir  Piercie  Shafton,  to  ridicule  the 
Euphuists,  and  that  affedatam  comitatem  of  the  tra- 
velled English  of  which  Languet  complains  ;  but  over 
and  above  the  anachronism  of  the  whole  character 
(for,  to  give  but  one  instance,  the  Euphuist  knight 
talks  of  Sidney's  quarrel  with  Lord  Oxford  at  least 
ten  years  before  it  happened),  we  do  deny  that  Lilly's 
book  could,  if  read  by  any  man  of  common  sense, 
produce  such  a  coxcomb,  whose  spiritual  ancestors 
would  rather  have  been  Gabriel  Harvey  and  Lord 
Oxford, — if  indeed  the  former  has  not  maligned  the 
latter,  and  ill-tempered  Tom  Nash  maligned  the 
maligner  in  his  turn. 

But,  indeed,  there  is  a  double  anachronism  in  Sir 
Piercie ;  for  he  does  not  even  belong  to  the  days  of 
Sidney,  but  to  those  worse  times  which  began  in  the 
latter  years  of  Elizabeth,  and  after  breaking  her 
mighty  heart,  had  full  licence  to  bear  their  crop  of 
fools'  heads  in  the  profligate  days  of  James.  Of  them, 
perhaps,  hereafter.     And  in  the  meanwhile,  let  those 

VOL.  I.  s  w.  H. 


258       HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

who  have  not  read  "Euphues,"  believe  that,  if  they 
could  train  a  son  after  the  fashion  of  his  Ephoibus, 
to  the  great  saving  of  their  own  money  and  his  virtue, 
all  fathers,  even  in  these  money-making  days,  would 
rise  up  and  call  them  blessed.  Let  us  rather  open  our 
eyes,  and  see  in  these  old  Elizabeth  gallants  our  own 
ancestors,  showing  forth  with  the  luxuriant  wildness 
of  youth,  all  the  virtues  which  still  go  to  the  making 
of  a  true  Englishman.  Let  us  not  only  see  in  their 
commercial  and  military  daring,  in  their  political 
astuteness,  in  their  deep  reverence  for  law,  and  in 
their  solemn  sense  of  the  great  caUing  of  the  English 
nation,  the  antitypes  or  rather  the  examples  of  our 
own :  but  let  us  confess  that  their  chivalry  is  only 
another  garb  of  that  beautiful  tenderness  and  mercy 
which  is  now,  as  it  was  then,  the  twin  sister  of 
English  valour ;  and  even  in  their  extravagant  fond- 
ness for  Continental  manners  and  literature,  let  us 
recognise  that  old  Anglo-Norman  teachableness  and 
wide-heartedness,  which  has  enabled  us  to  profit  by 
the  wisdom  and  civilisation  of  all  ages  and  of  all 
lands,  without  prejudice  to  our  own  distinctive 
national  character. 

And  so  I  go  to  my  story,  which,  if  any  one  dis- 
likes, he  has  but  to  turn  the  leaf  till  he  finds  pasturage 
which  suits  him  better. 

Amyas  could  not  sail  the  next  day,  or  the  day 
after ;  for  the  south-wester  freshened,  and  blew  three 
parts  of  a  gale  dead  into  the  bay.  So  having  got  the 
Mary  Grenvile  down  the  river  into  Appledore  pool, 
ready  to  start  with 'the  first  shift  of  wind,  he  went 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  259 

quietly  home ;  and  when  his  mother  started  on  a 
pillion  behind  the  old  serving-man  to  ride  to  Clovelly, 
where  Frank  lay  wounded,  he  went  in  with  her  as  far 
as  Bideford,  and  there  met,  coming  down  the  High 
Street,  a  procession  of  horsemen  headed  by  Will  Gary, 
who,  clad  cap-a-pi6  in  shining  armour,  sword  on  thigh, 
and  helmet  at  saddle-bow,  looked  as  gallant  a  young 
gentleman  as  ever  Bideford  dames  peeped  at  from 
door  and  window.  Behind  him,  upon  country  ponies, 
came  four  or  five  stout  serving-men,  carrying  his  lances 
and  baggage,  and  their  own  long-bows,  swords,  and 
bucklers;  and  behind  all,  in  a  horse-litter,  to  Mrs. 
Leigh's  great  joy.  Master  Frank  himself.  He  deposed 
that  his  wounds  were  only  flesh-wounds,  the  dagger 
having  turned  against  his  ribs  ;  that  he  must  see  the 
last  of  his  brother ;  and  that  with  her  good  leave  he 
would  not  come  home  to  Burrough,  but  take  up  his 
abode  with  Gary  in  the  Ship  Tavern,  close  to  the 
Bridge-foot.  This  he  did  forthwith,  and  settling 
himself  on  a  couch,  held  his  levee  there  in  state, 
mobbed  by  all  the  gossips  of  the  town,  not  without 
white  fibs  as  to  who  had  brought  him  into  that  sorry 
plight. 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  he  and  Amyas  concocted  a 
scheme,  which  was  put  into  effect  the  next  day  (being 
market-day) ;  first  by  the  innkeeper,  who  began  under 
Amyas's  orders  a  bustle  of  roasting,  boiling,  and  fry- 
ing, unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  the  Ship  Tavern ; 
and  next  by  Amyas  himself,  who,  going  out  into  the 
market,  invited  as  many  of  his  old  schoolfellows,  one 
by  one  apart,  as  Frank  had  pointed  out  to  him,  to  a 


260      HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

merry  supper  and  a  "  rowse "  thereon  consequent ; 
by  which  crafty  scheme,  in  came  each  of  Rose  Salt- 
erne's  gentle  admirers,  and  found  himself,  to  his  con- 
siderable disgust,  seated  at  the  same  table  with  six 
rivals,  to  none  of  whom  had  he  spoken  for  the  last 
six  months.  However,  all  were  too  well  bred  to  let 
the  Leighs  discern  as  much;  and  they  (though,  of 
course,  they  knew  all)  settled  their  guests,  Frank  on 
his  couch  lying  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  Amyas 
taking  the  bottom:  and  contrived,  by  filling  all 
mouths  with  good  things,  to  save  them  the  pain  of 
speaking  to  each  other  till  the  wine  should  have 
loosened  their  tongues  and  warmed  their  hearts.  In 
the  meanwhile  both  Amyas  and  Frank,  ignoring  the 
silence  of  their  guests  with  the  most  provoking  good- 
humour,  chatted,  and  joked,  and  told  stories,  and 
made  themselves  such  good  company,  that  Will  Gary, 
who  always  found  merriment  infectious,  melted  into 
a  jest,  and  then  into  another,  and  finding  good 
humour  far  more  pleasant  than  bad,  tried  to  make 
Mr.  Coffin  laugh,  and  only  made  him  bow,  and  to 
make  Mr.  Fortescue  laugh,  and  only  made  him  frown; 
and  unabashed  nevertheless,  began  playing  his  light 
artillery  upon  the  waiters,  till  he  drove  them  out  of 
the  room  bursting  with  laughter. 

So  far  so  good.  And  when  the  cloth  was  drawn, 
and  sack  and  sugar  became  the  order  of  the  day,  and 
"  Queen  and  Bible  "  had  been  duly  drunk  with  all  the 
honours,  Frank  tried  a  fresh  move,  and — 

"I  have  a  toast,  gentlemen — here  it  is.  'The 
gentlemen  of  the  Irish  wars ;  and  may  Ireland  never 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  261 

be  without  a  St.  Leger  to  stand  by  a  Fortescue,  a 
Fortescue  to  stand  by  a  St.  Leger,  and  a  Chichester 
to  stand  by  both.' " 

Which  toast  of  course  involved  the  drinking  the 
healths  of  the  three  representatives  of  those  families, 
and  their  returning  thanks,  and  paying  a  compliment 
each  to  the  other's  house :  and  so  the  ice  cracked 
a  little  further;  and  young  Fortescue  proposed  the 
health  of  "Amyas  Leigh,  and  all  bold  mariners;"  to 
which  Amyas  replied  by  a  few  blunt  kindly  words, 
"  that  he  wished  to  know  no  better  fortune  than  to 
sail  round  the  world  again  with  the  present  company 
as  fellow-adventurers,  and  so  give  the  Spaniards  an- 
other taste  of  the  men  of  Devon." 

And  by  this  time,  the  wine  going  down  sweetly, 
caused  the  lips  of  them  that  were  asleep  to  speak ; 
till  the  ice  broke  up  altogether,  and  every  man  began 
talking  like  a  rational  Englishman  to  the  man  who 
sat  next  him. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,"  said  Frank,  who  saw  that 
it  was  the  fit  moment  for  the  grand  assault  which  he 
had  planned  all  along;  "let  me  give  you  a  health 
which  none  of  you,  I  dare  say,  will  refuse  to  drink 
with  heart  and  soul  as  well  as  with  lips ; — the  health 
of  one  whom  beauty  and  virtue  have  so  ennobled,  that 
in  their  light  the  shadow  of  lowly  birth  is  unseen ; — 
the  health  of  one  whom  I  would  proclaim  as  peerless 
in  loveliness,  were  it  not  that  every  gentleman  here 
has  sisters,  who  might  well  challenge  from  her  the 
girdle  of  Venus :  and  yet  what  else  dare  I  say,  while 
those  same  lovely  ladies  who,  if  they  but  use  their 


262  HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

own  mirrors,  must  needs  be  far  better  judges  of  beauty 
than  I  can  be,  have  in  my  own  hearing  again  and 
again  assigned  the  palm  to  her  1  Surelj^,  if  the  god- 
desses decide  among  themselves  the  question  of  the 
golden  apple,  Paris  himself  must  vacate  the  judgment- 
seat.  Gentlemen,  your  hearts,  I  doubt  not,  have 
already  bid  you,  as  my  unworthy  lips  do  now,  to 
drink  'The  Eose  of  Torridge.'" 

If  the  Rose  of  Torridge  herself  had  walked  into 
the  room,  she  could  hardly  have  caused  more  blank 
astonishment  than  Frank's  bold  speech.  Every  guest 
turned  red,  and  pale,  and  red  again,  and  looked  at 
the  other,  as  much  as  to  say,  "What  right  has  any 
one  but  I  to  drink  her  1  Lift  your  glass,  and  I  will 
dash  it  out  of  your  hand  : "  but  Frank,  with  sweet 
effrontery,  drank,  "  The  health  of  the  Rose  of 
Torridge,  and  a  double  health  to  that  worthy  gentle- 
man, whosoever  he  may  be,  whom  she  is  fated  to 
honour  with  her  love  ! " 

"  Well  done,  cunning  Frank  Leigh ! "  cried  blunt 
Will  Gary;  "none  of  us  dare  quarrel  with  you  now, 
however  much  we  may  sulk  at  each  other.  For  there's 
none  of  us,  I'll  warrant,  but  thinks  that  she  likes  him 
the  best  of  all ;  and  so  we  are  bound  to  believe  that 
you  have  drunk  our  healths  all  round." 

"  And  so  I  have :  and  what  better  thing  can  you 
do,  gentlemen,  than  to  drink  each  other's  healths  all 
round  likewise :  and  so  show  yourselves  true  gentle- 
men, true  Christians,  ay,  and  true  lovers "?  For  what 
is  love  (let  me  speak  freely  to  you,  gentlemen  and 
guests),  what  is  love,  but  the  very  inspiration  of  that 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  263 

Deity  whose  name  is  Love  *?  Be  sure  that  not  without 
reason  did  the  ancients  feign  Eros  to  be  the  eldest  of 
the  gods,  by  whom  the  jarring  elements  of  chaos  were 
attuned  into  harmony  and  order.  How  then  shall 
lovers  make  him  the  father  of  strife  1  Shall  Psyche 
wed  with  Cupid,  to  bring  forth  a  cockatrice's  egg  1  or 
the  soul  be  filled  mth  love,  the  Hkeness  of  the  im- 
mortals, to  burn  with  envy  and  jealousy,  division  and 
distrust  1  True,  the  rose  has  its  thorn  :  but  it  leaves 
poison  and  stings  to  the  nettle.  Cupid  has  his  arrow  : 
but  he  hurls  no  scorpions.  Venus  is  awful  when  de- 
spised, as  the  daughters  of  Proetus  found :  but  her 
handmaids  are  the  Graces,  not  the  Furies.  Surely  he 
who  loves  aright  will  not  only  find  love  lovely,  but 
become  himself  lovely  also.  I  speak  not  to  reprehend 
you,  gentlemen;  for  to  you  (as  your  piercing  wits 
have  already  perceived,  to  judge  by  your  honourable 
blushes)  my  discourse  tends ;  but  to  point  you,  if  you 
will  but  permit  me,  to  that  rock  which  I  myseK  have, 
I  know  not  by  what  Divine  good  hap,  attained ;  if, 
indeed,  I  have  attained  it,  and  am  not  about  to  bo 
washed  off  again  by  the  next  tide." 

Frank's  rapid  and  fantastic  oratory,  utterly  unex- 
pected as  it  was,  had  as  yet  left  their  wits  no  time  to 
set  their  tempers  on  fire;  but  when,  weak  from  his 
wounds,  he  paused  for  breath,  there  was  a  haughty 
murmur  from  more  than  one  young  gentleman,  who 
took  his  speech  as  an  impertinent  interference  with 
each  man's  right  to  make  a  fool  of  himself ;  and  Mr. 
Coffin,  who  had  sat  quietly  bolt  upright,  and  looking 
at  the  opposite  wall,  now  rose  as  quietly,  and  with  a 


264      HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

face  which  tried  to  look  utterly  unconcerned,  was 
walking  out  of  the  room :  another  minute,  and  Lady 
Bath's  prophecy  about  the  feast  of  the  Lapithse  might 
have  come  true. 

But  Frank's  heart  and  head  never  failed  him. 

"Mr.  Coffin ! "  said  he,  in  a  tone  which  compelled  that 
gentleman  to  turn  round,  and  so  brought  him  under 
the  power  of  a  face  which  none  could  have  beheld 
for  five  minutes  and  borne  malice,  so  imploring,  tender, 
earnest  was  it.  "  My  dear  Mr.  Coffin !  If  my  earnest- 
ness has  made  me  forget  even  for  a  moment  the  bounds 
of  courtesy,  let  me  entreat  you  to  forgive  me.  Do 
not  add  to  my  heavy  griefs,  heavy  enough  already, 
the  grief  of  losing  a  friend.  Only  hear  me  patiently 
to  the  end  (generously,  I  know,  you  will  hear  me) ; 
and  then,  if  you  are  still  incensed,  I  can  but  again 
entreat  your  forgiveness  a  second  time." 

Mr.  Coffin,  to  tell  the  truth,  had  at  that  time  never 
been  to  Court ;  and  he  was,  therefore,  somewhat 
jealous  of  Frank,  and  his  Court  talk,  and  his  Court 
clothes,  and  his  Court  company ;  and  moreover,  being 
the  eldest  of  the  guests,  and  only  two  years  younger 
than  Frank  himself,  he  was  a  little  nettled  at  being 
classed  in  the  same  category  with  some  who  were 
scarce  eighteen.  And  if  Frank  had  given  the  least 
hint  which  seemed  to  assume  his  own  superiority,  all 
had  been  lost :  but  when,  instead  thereof,  he  sued  in 
formd  pauj)eris,  and  threw  himself  upon  Coffin's  mercy, 
the  latter,  who  was  a  true-hearted  man  enough,  and 
after  all  had  known  Frank  ever  since  either  of  them 
could  walk,  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  down  again 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  265 

and  submit,   while  Frank   went  on  more  earnestly 
than  ever. 

"Believe  me;  believe  me,  Mr.  Coffin,  and  gentle- 
men all,  I  no  more  arrogate  to  myself  a  superiority 
over  you,  than  does  the  sailor  hurled  on  shore  by  the 
surge  fancy  himself  better  than  his  comrade  who  is 
still  battling  with  the  foam.  For  I  too,  gentlemen, — 
let  me  confess  it,  that  by  confiding  in  you  I  may,  per- 
haps, win  you  to  confide  in  me, — have  loved,  ay  and 
do  love,  where  you  love  also.  Do  not  start.  Is  it  a 
matter  of  wonder  that  the  sun  which  has  dazzled  you 
has  dazzled  me ;  that  the  loadstone  which  has  drawn 
you  has  drawn  mel  Do  not  frown,  either,  gentle- 
men. I  have  learnt  to  love  you  for  loving  what  I 
love,  and  to  admire  you  for  admiring  that  which  I 
admire.  Will  you  not  try  the  same  lesson  ;  so  easy, 
and,  when  learnt,  so  blissful?  What  breeds  more 
close  communion  between  subjects,  than  allegiance  to 
the  same  Queen  %  between  brothers,  than  duty  to  the 
same  father  ?  between  the  devout,  than  adoration  for 
the  same  Deity  1  And  shall  not  worship  for  the  same 
beauty  be  likewise  a  bond  of  love  between  the  wor- 
shippers'? and  each  lover  see  in  his  rival  not  an  enemy, 
but  a  f ellow-suff'erer  ?  You  smile  and  say  in  your 
hearts,  that  though  all  may  worship),  but  one  can 
enjoy ;  and  that  one  man's  meat  must  be  the  poison 
of  the  rest.  Be  it  so,  though  I  deny  it.  Shall  we 
anticipate  our  OAvn  doom,  and  slay  ourselves  for  fear 
of  dying  1  Shall  we  make  ourselves  unworthy  of  her 
from  our  very  eagerness  to  ^\m  her,  and  show  our- 
selves her  faithful  knights,  by  cherishing  envy, — most 


266      HOW  THE  NOBLE  BEOTHERHOOD 

unknightly  of  all  sins?  Shall  we  dream  with  the 
Italian  or  the  Spaniard  that  we  can  become  more 
amiable  in  a  lady's  eyes,  by  becoming  hateful  in  the 
eyes  of  God  and  of  each  other  *?  Will  she  love  us  the 
better,  if  we  come  to  her  with  hands  stained  in  the 
blood  of  him  whom  she  loves  better  than  us  1  Let  us 
recollect  ourselves  rather,  gentlemen;  and  be  sure 
that  our  only  chance  of  winning  her,  if  she  be  worth 
winning,  is  to  will  what  she  wills,  honour  whom  she 
honours,  love  whom  she  loves.  If  there  is  to  be 
rivalry  among  us,  let  it  be  a  rivalry  in  nobleness,  an 
emulation  in  virtue.  Let  each  try  to  outstrip  the 
other  in  loyalty  to  his  Queen,  in  valour  against  her 
foes,  in  deeds  of  courtesy  and  mercy  to  the  afflicted 
and  oppressed ;  and  thus  our  love  will  indeed  prove 
its  own  divine  origin,  by  raising  us  nearer  to  those 
gods  whose  gift  it  is.  But  yet  I  show  you  a  more 
excellent  way,  and  that  is  charity.  Why  should  we 
not  make  this  common  love  to  her,  whom  I  am  un- 
worthy to  name,  the  sacrament  of  a  common  love  to 
each  other"?  Why  should  we  not  follow  the  heroical 
examples  of  those  ancient  knights,  who  having  but 
one  grief,  one  desire,  one  goddess,  held  that  one  heart 
was  enough  to  contain  that  grief,  to  nourish  that 
desire,  to  worship  that  divinity ;  and  so  uniting  them- 
selves in  friendship  till  they  became  but  one  soul  in 
two  bodies,  lived  only  for  each  other  in  living  only  for 
her,  vowing,  as  faithful  worshippers,  to  abide  by  her 
decision,  to  find  their  own  bliss  in  hers,  and  whomso- 
ever she  esteemed  most  worthy  of  her  love,  to  esteem 
most  worthy  also,  and  count  themselves,  by  that  her 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  267 

choice,  the  bounden  servants  of  him  whom  their  mis- 
tress had  condescended  to  advance  to  the  dignity  of 
her  master  1 — as  I  (not  without  hope  that  I  shall  be 
outdone  in  generous  strife)  do  here  promise  to  be  the 
faithful  friend,  and,  to  my  ability,  the  hearty  servant, 
of  him  who  shall  be  honoured  with  the  love  of  the 
Eose  of  Torridge." 

He  ceased,  and  there  was  a  pause. 

At  last  young  Fortescue  spoke. 

"  I  may  be  paying  you  a  left-handed  compliment, 
sir :  but  it  seems  to  me  that  you  are  so  likely,  in  that 
case,  to  become  your  own  faithful  friend  and  hearty 
servant  (even  if  you  have  not  borne  off  the  bell  already 
while  we  have  been  asleep),  that  the  bargain  is  hardly 
fair  between  such  a  gay  Italianist  and  us  country 
swains." 

"You  undervalue  yourself  and  your  country,  my 
dear  sir.  But  set  your  mind  at  rest.  I  know  no 
more  of  that  lady's  mind  than  you  do :  nor  shall  I 
know.  For  the  sake  of  my  own  peace,  I  have  made 
a  vow  neither  to  see  her,  nor  to  hear,  if  possible, 
tidings  of  her,  till  three  full  years  are  past.     Dixi  ?" 

Mr.  Coffin  rose. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  may  submit  to  be  outdone  by  Mr. 
Leigh  in  eloquence,  but  not  in  generosity ;  if  he  leaves 
these  parts  for  three  years,  I  do  so  also." 

"And  go  in  charity  with  all  mankind,"  said  Gary. 
"  Give  us  your  hand,  old  fellow.  If  you  are  a  Coffin, 
you  were  sawn  out  of  no  wishy-washy  elm-board,  but 
right  heart-of-oak.  I  am  going,  too,  as  Amyas  here 
can  tell,  to  Ireland  away,  to  cool  my  hot  liver  in  a  bog, 


268      HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

like  a  Jack-hare  in  March.  Come,  give  us  thy  neif, 
and  let  us  part  in  peace.  I  was  minded  to  have  fought 
thee  this  day " 

"I  should  have  been  most  happy,  sir,"  said  Coffin. 

— "  But  now  I  am  all  love  and  charity  to  mankind. 
Can  I  have  the  pleasure  of  begging  pardon  of  the 
world  in  general,  and  thee  in  particular?  Does  any 
one  wish  to  pull  my  nose ;  send  me  an  errand ;  make 
me  lend  him  five  pounds ;  ay,  make  me  buy  a  horse 
of  him,  which  will  be  as  good  as  giving  him  ten? 
Come  along !  Join  hands  all  round,  and  swear  eternal 
friendship,  as  brothers  of  the  sacred  order  of  the — 
of  what  1  Frank  Leigh  ?  Open  thy  mouth,  Daniel,  and 
christen  us !" 

"The  Eose!"  said  Frank,  quietly,  seeing  that  his 
new  love-philtre  was  working  well,  and  determined  to 
strike  while  the  iron  was  hot,  and  carry  the  matter  too 
far  to  carry  it  back  again. 

"  The  Eose  ! "  cried  Cary,  catching  hold  of  Coffin's 
hand  with  his  right,  and  Fortescue's  with  his  left. 
"Come,  Mr.  Coffin!  Bend,  sturdy  oak?  'Woe  to  the 
stiffnecked  and  stout-hearted  !'  says  Scripture." 

And  somehow  or  other,  whether  it  was  Frank's 
chivalrous  speech,  or  Cary's  fun,  or  Amyas's  good 
wine,  or  the  nobleness  which  lies  in  every  young  lad's 
heart,  if  their  elders  will  take  the  trouble  to  call  it 
out,  the  whole  party  came  in  to  terms  one  by  one, 
shook  hands  all  round,  and  vowed  on  the  hilt  of 
Amyas's  sword,  to  make  fools  of  themselves  no  more, 
at  least  by  jealousy :  but  to  stand  by  each  other  and 
by  their  lady-love,  and  neither  grudge  nor  grumble, 


OF  THE  HOSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  269 

let  her  dance  with,  flirt  with,  or  marry  with,  whom 
she  would  ;  and  in  order  that  the  honour  of  their 
peerless  dame,  and  the  brotherhood  which  was  named 
after  her,  might  be  spread  through  all  lands,  and 
equal  that  of  Angelica  or  Isonde  of  Brittany,  they 
would  each  go  home,  and  ask  their  fathers'  leave 
(easy  enough  to  obtain  in  those  brave  times)  to  go 
abroad  wheresoever  there  were  "good  wars,"  to 
emulate  there  the  courage  and  the  courtesy  of  Walter 
Manny  and  Gonzalo  Fernandes,  Bayard  and  Gaston 
de  Foix.  Why  not  ^  Sidney  was  the  hero  of  Europe 
at  five-and-twenty ;  and  why  not  they  1 

And  Frank  watched  and  listened  with  one  of  his 
quiet  smiles  (his  eyes,  as  some  folks  do,  smiled  even 
when  his  lips  were  still)  and  only  said  :  "  Gentlemen, 
be  sure  that  you  will  never  repent  this  day." 

"Eepentf  said  Gary.  "I  feel  already  as  angeHcal 
as  thou  lookest,  Saint  Silvertongue.  What  was  it 
that  sneezed? — the  cat?" 

"The  lion,  rather,  by  the  roar  of  it,"  said  Amyas, 
making  a  dash  at  the  arras  behind  him.  "  Why,  here 
is  a  doorway  here  !  and " 

And  rushing  under  the  arras,  through  an  open  door 
behind,  he  returned,  dragging  out  by  the  head  Mr. 
John  Brimblecombe. 

Who  was  Mr.  John  Brimblecombe  1 

If  you  have  forgotten  him,  you  have  done  pretty 
nearly  what  every  one  else  in  the  room  had  done. 
But  you  recollect  a  certain  fat  lad,  son  of  the  school- 
master, whom  Sir  Eichard  punished  for  talebearing 
three  years  before,  by  sending  him,  not  to  Coventry, 


270      HOW  THE  NOBLE  BEOTHERHOOD 

but  to  Oxford.  That  was  the  man.  He  was  now 
one-and-twenty,  and  a  bachelor  of  Oxford,  where  he 
had  learnt  such  things  as  were  taught  in  those  days, 
with  more  or  less  success ;  and  he  was  now  hanging 
about  Bideford  once  more,  intending  to  return  after 
Christmas  and  read  divinity,  that  he  might  become  a 
parson,  and  a  shepherd  of  souls  in  his  native  land. 

Jack  was  in  person  exceedingly  like  a  pig:  but 
not  like  every  pig :  not  in  the  least  like  the  Devon 
pigs  of  those  days,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  were  no 
more  shapely  than  the  true  Irish  greyhound  who  pays 
Pat's  "rint"  for  him;  or  than  the  lanky  monsters 
who  wallow  in  German  rivulets,  while  the  village 
swineherd,  beneath  a  shady  lime,  forgets  his  fleas  in 
the  melody  of  a  Jew's-harp  —  strange  mud-coloured 
creatures,  four  feet  high  and  four  inches  thick,  which 
look  as  if  they  had  passed  their  lives,  as  a  collar  of 
Oxford  brawn  is  said  to  do,  between  two  tight 
boards.  Such  were  then  the  pigs  of  Devon :  not  to 
be  compared  with  the  true  wild  descendant  of  Noah's 
stock,  high-withered,  furry,  grizzled,  game-flavoured 
little  rooklers,  whereof  many  a  sownder  still  grunted 
about  Swinley  down  and  Braunton  woods,  Clovelly 
glens  and  Bursdon  moor.  Not  like  these,  nor  like 
the  tame  abomination  of  those  barbarous  times,  was 
Jack :  but  prophetic  in  face,  figure,  and  complexion, 
of  Fisher  Hobbs  and  the  triumphs  of  science.  A 
Fisher  Hobbs'  pig  of  twelve  stone,  on  his  hind-legs — 
that  was  what  he  was,  and  nothing  else  j  and  if  you 
do  not  know,  reader,  what  a  Fisher  Hobbs  is,  you 
know  nothing  about  pigs,  and  deserve  no  bacon  for 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  271 

breakfast.  But  such  was  Jack.  The  same  plump 
mulberry  complexion,  garnished  with  a  few  scattered 
black  bristles;  the  same  sleek  skin,  looking  always 
as  if  it  was  upon  the  point  of  bursting;  the  same  Httle 
toddling  legs ;  the  same  dajoper  bend  in  the  small  of 
the  back;  the  same  cracked  squeak;  the  same  low 
upright  forehead,  and  tiny  eyes ;  the  same  jound  self- 
satisfied  jowl ;  the  same  charming  sensitive  little 
cocked  nose,  always  on  the  look-out  for  a  savoury 
smell, — and  yet  while  watching  for  the  best,  contented 
with  the  worst ;  a  pig  of  self-helpful  and  serene  spirit, 
as  Jack  was,  and  therefore,  like  him,  fatting  fast  while 
other  pigs'  ribs  are  staring  through  their  skins. 

Such  was  Jack;  and  lucky  it  was  for  him  that  such 
he  was ;  for  it  was  little  that  he  got  to  fat  him  at 
Oxford,  in'  days  when  a  servitor  meant  really  a  ser- 
vant-student ;  and  wistfully  that  day  did  his  eyes,  led 
by  his  nose,  survey  at  the  end  of  the  Ship  Inn  passage 
the  preparations  for  Amyas's  supper.  The  innkeeper 
was  a  friend  of  his ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  they  had 
lived  within  three  doors  of  each  other  all  their  lives ; 
and  next,  Jack  was  quite  pleasant  company  enough, 
beside  being  a  learned  man  and  an  Oxford  scholar,  to 
be  asked  in  now  and  then  to  the  innkeeper's  private 
parlour,  when  there  Avere  no  gentlemen  there,  to  crack 
his  little  joke  and  tell  his  little  story,  sip  the  leavings 
of  the  guests'  sack,  and  sometimes  help  the  host  to 
eat  the  leavings  of  their  supper.  And  it  was,  perhaps, 
with  some  such  hope  that  Jack  trotted  off  round  the 
corner  to  the  Ship  that  very  afternoon ;  for  that  faith- 
ful little  nose  of  his,  as  it  snifi'ed  out  of  a  back  window 


272      HOW  THE  XOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

of  the  school,  had  given  him  warning  of  Sabean  gales, 
and  scents  of  Paradise,  from  the  inn  kitchen  below ; 
so  he  went  round,  and  asked  for  his  pot  of  small  ale 
(his  only  luxury),  and  stood  at  the  bar  to  drink  it ; 
and  looked  inward  with  his  little  twinkling  right  eye 
and  sniffed  inward  with  his  little  curling  right  nostril, 
and  beheld,  in  the  kitchen  beyond,  salad  in  stacks  and 
faggots ;  salad  of  lettuce,  salad  of  cress  and  endive, 
salad  of  boiled  coleworts,  salad  of  pickled  coleworts, 
salad  of  angelica,  salad  of  scurvy -wort,  and  seven 
salads  more  ;  for  potatoes  were  not  as  yet,  and  salads 
were  during  eight  months  of  the  year  the  only  vege- 
table. And  on  the  dresser,  and  before  the  fire,  whole 
hecatombs  of  fragrant  victims,  which  needed  neither 
frankincense  nor  myrrh ;  Clovelly  herrings  and  Tor- 
ridge  salmon,  Exmoor  mutton  and  Stow  venison, 
stubble  geese  and  woodcocks,  curlew  and  snipe,  hams 
of  Hampshire,  chitterlings  of  Taunton,  and  botargos  of 
Cadiz,  such  as  Pantagrue  himself  might  have  devoured. 
And  Jack  eyed  them,  as  a  ragged  boy  eyes  the  cakes 
in  a  pastrycook's  window ;  and  thought  of  the  scraps 
from  the  commoner's  dinner,  which  were  his  wages 
for  cleaning  out  the  hall ;  and  meditated  deeply  on 
the  unequal  distribution  of  human  bliss. 

"Ah,  Mr.  Brimblecombe !"  said  the  host,  bustling 
out  with  knife  and  apron  to  cool  himself  in  the  passage. 
"  Here  are  doings  !  Nine  gentlemen  to  supper  !" 
"Nine  !  Are  they  going  to  eat  all  thatf 
"  Well,  I  can't  say — that  Mr.  Amy  as  is  as  good  as 
three  to  his  trencher :  but  still  there's  crumbs,  Mr. 
Brimblecombe,  crumbs;  and  Waste  not  want  not  is 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  273 

my  doctrine  ;  so  you  and  I  may  have  a  somewhat  to 
stay  our  stomachs,  about  an  eight  o'clock." 

"Eight  f  said  Jack,  looking  wistfully  at  the  clock 
"  It's  but  four  now.  Well,  it's  kind  of  you,  and  per- 
haps I'll  look  in." 

"  Just  you  step  in  now,  and  look  to  this  venison. 
There's  a  breast !  you  may  lay  your  two  fingers  into 
the  say  there,  and  not  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  fat. 
That's  Sir  Eichard's  sending.  He's  all  for  them 
Leighs,  and  no  wonder,  they'm  brave  lads,  surely; 
and  there's  a  saddle-o'-mutton  !  I  rode  twenty  miles 
for  mun  yesterday,  I  did,  over  beyond  Barnstaple; 
and  five  year  old,  Mr.  John,  it  is,  if  ever  five  years 
was ;  and  not  a  tooth  to  mun's  head,  for  I  looked  to 
that ;  and  smelt  all  the  way  home  like  any  apple ; 
and  if  it  don't  ate  so  soft  as  ever  was  scald  cream, 
never  you  call  me  Thomas  Burman." 

"Humph  !"  said  Jack.  "And  that's  their  dinner. 
Well,  some  are  born  with  a  silver  spoon  in  their 
mouth." 

"  Some  be  born  with  roast  beef  in  their  mouths,  and 
plum-pudding  in  their  pocket  to  take  away  the  taste 
o'  mun;  and  that's  better  than  empty  spunes,  ehf 

"  For  them  that  get  it,"  said  Jack.     "But  for  them 

that  don't "     And  with  a  sigh  he  returned  to  his 

small  ale,  and  then  lingered  in  and  out  of  the  inn, 
watching  the  dinner  as  it  went  into  the  best  room, 
where  the  guests  were  assembled. 

And  as  he  lounged  there,  Amyas  went  in,  and  saw 
him,  and  held  out  his  hand,  and  said, — 

"  Hillo,  Jack  !  how  goes  the  world  1     How  you've 

VOL.  I.  T  w.  H. 


274      HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

grown!"  and  passed  on; — what  had  Jack  Brimble- 
combe  to  do  with  Rose  Salterne  1 

So  Jack  lingered  on,  hovering  around  the  fragrant 
smell  like  a  fly  round  a  honey-pot,  till  he  found  him- 
self invisibly  attracted,  and  as  it  were  led  by  the  nose 
out  of  the  passage  into  the  adjoining  room,  and  to 
that  side  of  the  room  where  there  was  a  door ;  and 
once  there  he  could  not  help  hearing  what  passed 
inside ;  till  Rose  Salterne's  name  fell  on  his  ear.  So, 
as  it  was  ordained,  he  was  taken  in  the  fact.  And 
now  behold  him  brought  in  red-hand  to  judgment, 
not  without  a  kick  or  two  from  the  wrathful  foot  of 
Amyas  Leigh.  Whereat  there  fell  on  him  a  storm  of 
abuse,  which,  for  the  honour  of  that  gallant  company, 
I  shall  not  give  in  detail ;  but  which  abuse,  strange  to 
say,  seemed  to  have  no  affect  on  the  impenitent  and 
unabashed  Jack,  who,  as  soon  as  he  could  get  his 
breath,  made  answer  fiercely,  amid  much  puffing  and 
blowing. 

"  What  business  have  I  here  'i  As  much  as  any  of 
you.  If  you  had  asked  me  in,  I  would  have  come : 
but  as  you  didn't,  I  came  without  asking." 

"  You  shameless  rascal ! "  said  Gary.  "  Come  if 
you  were  asked,  where  there  was  good  wine?  I'll 
warrant  you  for  that !" 

"Why,"  said  Amyas,  "no  lad  ever  had  a  cake  at 
school,  but  he  would  dog  him  up  one  street  and  down 
another  all  day  for  the  crumbs,  the  trencher-scraping 
spaniel!" 

"Patience,  masters!"  said  Frank.  "That  Jack's 
is  somewhat  of  a  gnathonic  and  parasitic  soul,   or 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  275 

stomach,  all  Bideford  apple-women  know :  but  I  sus- 
pect more  than  Deus  Venter  has  brought  him  hither." 

"Deus  eaves-dropping,  then.  We  shall  have  the 
whole  story  over  the  town  by  to-morrow,"  said 
another ;  beginning  at  that  thought  to  feel  somewhat 
ashamed  of  his  late  enthusiasm. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Frank !  You  were  always  the  only  one 
that  would  stand  up  for  me  !  Deus  Venter,  quotha  1 
'Twas  Deus  Cupid,  it  was  ! " 

A  roar  of  laughter  followed  this  announcement. 

"  What  ?"  asked  Frank ;  "  was  it  Cupid,  then,  who 
sneezed  approval  to  our  love.  Jack,  as  he  did  to  that 
of  Dido  and  ^neas  ?" 

But  Jack  went  on  desperately. 

"  I  was  in  the  next  room,  drinking  of  my  beer.  I 
couldn't  help  that,  could  I?  And  then  I  heard  her 
name ;  and  I  couldn't  help  listening  then.  Flesh  and 
blood  couldn't." 

"Nor  fat  either!" 

"  No,  nor  fat,  Mr.  Cary.  Do  you  suppose  fat  men 
haven't  souls  to  be  saved,  as  well  as  thin  ones,  and 
hearts  to  burst,  too,  as  well  as  stomachs  1  Fat !  Fat 
can  feel,  I  reckon,  as  well  as  lean.  Do  you  suppose 
there's  nought  inside  here  but  beer*?" 

And  he  laid  his  hand,  as  Drayton  might  have  said, 
on  that  stout  bastion,  hornwork,  ravehn,  or  demilune, 
which  formed  the  outworks  to  the  citadel  of  his  purple 
isle  of  man. 

"Nought  but  beer? — Cheese,  I  suppose *?" 

"  Bread  f 

"Beef?" 


276  HOW  THE  NOBLE  BKOTHERHOOD 

"Love!"  cried  Jack.  "Yes,  Love! — Ay,  you 
laugh ;  but  my  eyes  are  not  so  grown  up  with  fat  but 
what  I  can  see  what's  fair  as  well  as  you." 

"  Oh,  Jack,  naughty  Jack,  dost  thou  heap  sin  on 
sin,  and  luxury  on  gluttony  f 

"  Sin  1  If  I  sin,  you  sin :  I  tell  you,  and  I  don't 
care  who  knows  it,  I've  loved  her  these  three  years  as 
well  as  e'er  a  one  of  you,  I  have.  I've  thought  o'  nothing 
else,  prayed  for  nothing  else,  God  forgive  me  !  And 
then  you  laugh  at  me,  because  I'm  a  poor  parson's 
son,  and  you  fine  gentlemen :  God  made  us  both,  I 
reckon.  You? — you  make  a  deal  of  giving  her  up 
to-day.  Why,  it's  what  I've  done  for  three  miserable 
years  as  ever  poor  sinner  spent ;  ay,  from  the  first  day 
I  said  to  myself,  '  Jack,  if  you  can't  have  that  pearl, 
you'll  have  none;  and  that  you  can't  have,  for  it's 
meat  for  your  masters;  so  conquer  or  die.'  And  I 
couldn't  conquer,  I  can't  help  loving  her,  worshipping 
her,  no  more  than  you ;  and  I  will  die :  but  you 
needn't  laugh  meanwhile  at  me  that  have  done  as 
much  as  you,  and  will  do  again." 

"  It  is  the  old  tale,"  said  Frank  to  himself;  "whom 
will  not  love  transform  into  a  herof 

And  so  it  was.  Jack's  squeaking  voice  was  firm 
and  manly,  his  pig's  eyes  flashed  very  fire,  his  gestures 
were  so  free  and  earnest,  that  the  ungainliness  of  his 
figure  was  forgotten ;  and  Avhen  he  finished  with  a 
violent  burst  of  tears,  Frank,  forgetting  his  wounds, 
sprang  up  and  caught  him  by  the  hand. 

"  John  Brimblecombe,  forgive  me  !  Gentlemen,  if 
we  are  gentlemen,  we  ought  to  ask  his  pardon.     Has 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  277 

he  not  shown  already  more  chivaby,  more  self-denial, 
and  therefore  more  true  love,  than  any  of  us  ?  My 
friends,  let  the  fierceness  of  affection,  which  we  have 
used  as  an  excuse  for  many  a  sin  of  oiu*  own,  excuse 
his  listening  to  a  conversation  in  which  he  well  de- 
served to  bear  a  part." 

"Ah,"  said  Jack,  "you  make  me  one  of  your 
brotherhood ;  and  see  if  I  do  not  dare  to  suffer  as 
much  as  any  of  you !  You  laugh  1  Do  you  fancy 
none  can  use  a  sword  unless  he  has  a  baker's  dozen 
of  quarterings  in  his  arms,  or  that  Oxford  scholars 
know  only  how  to  handle  a  pen  1" 

"Let  us  try  his  metal,"  said  St.  Leger.  "Here's 
my  sword.  Jack ;  draw,  CoJ9&n  !  and  have  at  him." 

"  Nonsense  ! "  said  Coffin,  looking  somewhat  dis- 
gusted at  the  notion  of  fighting  a  man  of  Jack's  rank; 
but  Jack  caught  at  the  weapon  offered  to  him. 

"Give  me  a  buckler,  and  have  at  any  of  you !" 

"Here's  a  chair  bottom,"  cried  Gary;  and  Jack, 
seizing  it  in  his  left,  flourished  his  sword  so  fiercely, 
and  called  so  loudly  to  Cofiin  to  come  on,  that  all 
present  found  it  necessary,  unless  they  wished  blood 
to  be  spilt,  to  turn  the  matter  off  with  a  laugh :  but 
Jack  would  not  hear  of  it. 

"  Nay :  if  you  will  let  me  be  of  your  brotherhood, 
well  and  good :  but  if  not,  one  or  other  I  will  fight : 
and  that's  flat." 

"You  see,  gentlemen,"  said  Amyas,  "we  must  ad- 
mit him,  or  die  the  death ;  so  we  needs  must  go  when 
Sir  Urian  drives.  Come  up,  Jack,  and  take  the  oaths. 
You  admit  him,  gentlemen  f 


278  HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD 

"Let  me  but  be  your  chaplain,"  said  Jack,  "and 
pray  for  your  luck  when  you're  at  the  wars.  If  I  do 
stay  at  home  in  a  country  curacy,  'tis  not  much  that 
you  need  be  jealous  of  me  with  her,  I  reckon,"  said 
Jack,  with  a  pathetical  glance  at  his  own  stomach. 

"  Sia  !"  said  Gary  :  "  but  if  he  be  admitted,  it  must 
be  done  according  to  the  solemn  forms  and  ceremonies 
in  such  cases  provided.  Take  him  into  the  next  room, 
Amyas,  and  prepare  him  for  his  initiation." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Amyas,  puzzled  by  the 
word.  But  judging  from  the  corner  of  Will's  eye 
that  initiation  was  Latin  for  a  practical  joke,  he  led 
forth  his  victim  behind  the  arras  again,  and  waited 
five  minutes  while  the  room  was  being  darkened, 
till  Frank's  voice  called  to  him  to  bring  in  the  neo- 
phyte. 

"John  Brimblecombe,"  said  Frank,  in  a  sepulchral 
tone,  "you  cannot  be  ignorant,  as  a  scholar  and 
bachelor  of  Oxford,  of  that  dread  Sacrament  by 
which  Cataline  bound  the  soul  of  his  fellow-conspira- 
tors, in  order  that  both  by  the  daring  of  the  deed  he 
might  have  proof  of  their  sincerity,  and  by  the  horror 
thereof  astringe  their  souls  by  adamantine  fetters,  and 
Novem-Stygian  oaths,  to  that  wherefrom  hereafter  the 
weakness  of  the  flesh  might  shrink.  Wherefore,  O 
Jack !  we  too  have  determined,  following  that  ancient 
and  classical  example,  to  fill,  as  he  did,  a  bowl  with 
the  life-blood  of  our  most  heroic  selves,  and  to  pledge 
each  other  therein,  with  vows  whereat  the  stars  shall 
tremble  in  their  spheres,  and  Luna,  blushing,  veil  her 
silver  cheeks.     Your  blood  alone  is  wanted  to  fill  up 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  279 

the  goblet.  Sit  down,  John  Brimblecombe,  and  bare 
your  ai-m ! " 

"  But,  Mr.  Frank ! "  said  Jack ;  who  was  as  super- 
stitious as  any  old  wife,  and,  what  with  the  darkness 
and  the  discourse,  already  in  a  cold  perspiration. 

"  But  me  no  buts  !  or  depart  as  recreant,  not  by  the 
door  hke  a  man,  but  up  the  chimney  like  a  flittermouse." 

"But,  Mr.  Frank!" 

"  Thy  vital  juice,  or  the  chimney  !  Choose  ! " 
roared  Gary  in  his  ear. 

"Well,  if  I  must,"  said  Jack;  "but  it's  desperate 
hard  that  because  you  can't  keep  faith  without  these 
barbarous  oaths,  I  must  take  them  too,  that  have  kept 
faith  these  three  years  without  any." 

At  this  pathetic  appeal,  Frank  nearly  melted  :  but 
Amyas  and  Gary  had  thrust  the  victim  into  a  chair 
and  all  was  prepared  for  the  sacrifice. 

"Bind  his  eyes,  according  to  the  classic  fashion," 
said  Will. 

"Oh  no,  dear  Mr.  Gary;  I'll  shut  them  tight 
enough,  I  warrant:  but  not  with  your  dagger,  dear 
Mr.  William — sure,  not  with  your  dagger?  I  can't 
afford  to  lose  blood,  though  I  do  look  lusty — I  can't 
indeed ;  sure,  a  pin  would  do — I've  got  one  here,  to 
my  sleeve,  somewhere — Oh  ! " 

"  See  the  fount  of  generous  juice  !  Flow  on,  fair 
stream.  How  he  bleeds  ! — pints,  quarts  !  Ah,  this 
proves  him  to  be  in  earnest ! " 

"A  true  lover's  blood  is  always  at  his  fingers'  ends." 

"  He  does  not  grudge  it ;  of  course  not.  Eh,  Jack  ? 
What  matters  an  odd  gallon  for  her  sake  V 


280  HOW  THE  NOBLE  BKOTHERHOOD 

"  For  her  sake  *?  Nothing,  nothing  1  Take  my  life, 
if  you  will :  but — Oh,  gentlemen,  a  surgeon,  if  you  love 
me  !     I'm  going  off — I'm  fainting  ! " 

"Drink,  then,  quick;  drink  and  swear!  Pat  his 
back,  Gary.  Courage,  man !  it  will  be  over  in  a 
minute.     Now,  Frank ! " 

And  Frank  spoke — 

' '  If  plighted  troth  I  fail,  or  secret  speech  reveal, 
May  Cocytean  ghosts  around  my  pillow  squeal  ; 
While  Ate's  brazen  claws  distringe  my  spleen  in  sunder, 
And  drag  me  deep  to  Pluto's  keep,  'mid  brimstone,  smoke, 
and  thunder !" 

"Placetne,  dominef 

"  Placet ! "  squeaked  Jack,  who  thought  himself  at 
the  last  gasp,  and  gulped  down  full  three-quarters  of 
the  goblet  which  Gary  held  to  his  lips. 

"Ugh — Ah — Puh!  Mercy  on  us!  It  tastes 
mighty  like  wine  ! " 

"A  proof,  my  virtuous  brother,"  said  Frank,  "first, 
of  thy  abstemiousness,  which  has  thus  forgotten  what 
wine  tastes  like ;  and  next,  of  thy  pure  and  heroical 
affection,  by  which  thy  carnal  senses  being  exalted  to 
a  higher  and  supra-lunar  sphere,  like  those  Platonical 
dajmonizomenoi  and  enthusiazomenoi  (of  whom  Jam- 
blichus  says  that  they  were  insensible  to  wounds  and 
flame,  and  much  more,  therefore,  to  evil  savours),  doth 
make  even  the  most  nauseous  draught  redolent  of  that 
celestial  fragrance,  which  proceeding,  0  Jack !  from 
thine  own  inward  virtue,  assimilates  by  sympathy  even 
outward  accidents  unto  its  own  harmony  and  melody; 
for  fragrance  is,  as  has  been  said  well,  the  song  of 


OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED.  281 

flowers,  and  sweetness,  the  music  of  apples — Ahem ! 
Go  in  peace,  thou  hast  conquered  ! " 

"  Put  him  out  of  the  door,  Will,"  said  Amyas,  "  or 
he  will  swoon  on  our  hands." 

"Give  him  some  sack,"  said  Frank. 

"Not  a  blessed  drop  of  yours,  sir,"  said  Jack.  "I 
like  good  wine  as  well  as  any  man  on  earth,  and  see 
as  little  of  it ;  but  not  a  drop  of  yours,  sirs,  after  your 
frumps  and  flouts  about  hanging-on  and  trencher-scrap- 
ing. When  I  first  began  to  love  her,  I  bid  good-bye 
to  all  dirty  tricks ;  for  I  had  some  one  then  for  whom 
to  keep  myself  clean." 

And  so  Jack  was  sent  home,  with  a  pint  of  good 
red  Alicant  wine  in  him  (more,  poor  fellow,  than  he 
had  tasted  at  once  in  his  life  before) ;  while  the  rest, 
in  high  glee  with  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  world, 
relighted  the  candles,  had  a  right  merry  evening,  and 
parted  like  good  friends  and  sensible  gentlemen  of 
Devon,  thinking  (all  except  Frank)  Jack  Brimble- 
combe  and  his  vow  the  merriest  jest  they  had  heard 
for  many  a  day.  After  which  they  all  departed : 
Amyas  and  Gary  to  Winter's  squadron;  Frank  (as 
soon  as  he  could  travel)  to  the  Court  again ;  and  with 
him  young  Basset,  whose  father  Sir  Arthur,  being  in 
London,  procured  for  him  a  page's  place  in  Leicester's 
household,  Fortescue  and  Chichester  went  to  their 
brothers  in  Dublin ;  St.  Leger  to  his  uncle  the  Marshal 
of  Munster;  Coffin  joined  Champernoun  and  Norris 
in  the  Netherlands;  and  so  the  Brotherhood  of  the 
Rose  was  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  Mistress  Salteme 
was  left  alone  with  her  looking-glass. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

HOW  AMY  AS  KEPT  HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY. 

"  Take  aim,  you  noble  musqueteers, 
And  shoot  you  round  about ; 
Stand  to  it,  valiant  pikemen, 
And  we  shall  keep  them  out. 
There's  not  a  man  of  all  of  us 
A  foot  will  backward  flee  ; 
I'll  be  the  foremost  man  in  fight, 
Says  brave  Lord  Willoughby  !  " 

Elizabethan  Ballad. 

It  was  the  blessed  Christmas  afternoon.  The  Hght 
was  fading  down;  the  even-song  was  done;  and  the 
good  folks  of  Bideford  were  trooping  home  in  merry 
groups,  the  father  with  his  children,  the  lover  with  his 
sweetheart,  to  cakes  and  ale,  and  flapdragons  and 
mummer's  plays,  and  all  the  happy  sports  of  Christmas 
night.  One  lady  only,  wrapped  close  in  her  black 
muffler  and  followed  by  her  maid,  walked  swiftly,  yet 
sadly,  toward  the  long  causeway  and  bridge  which  led 
to  Northam  town.  Sir  Eichard  Grenvile  and  his  wife 
caught  her  up  and  stopped  her  courteously. 

"You  will  come  home  with  us,  Mrs.  Leigh,"  said 
Lady  Grenvile,  "and  spend  a  pleasant  Christmas 
night  r'. 

Mrs.  Leigh  smiled  sweetly,  and  laying  one  hand  on 


HOW  AMYAS  KEPT  HIS  CHEISTMAS  DAY.        283 

Lady  Grenvile's  arm,  pointed  with  the  other  to  the 
westward,  and  said — 

"I  cannot  well  spend  a  merry  Christmas  night, 
while  that  sound  is  in  my  ears." 

The  whole  party  around  looked  in  the  direction  in 
which  she  pointed.  Above  their  heads  the  soft  blue 
sky  was  fading  into  grey,  and  here  and  there  a  misty 
star  peeped  out :  but  to  the  westward,  where  the 
downs  and  woods  of  Ealeigh  closed  in  with  those  of 
Abbotsham,  the  blue  was  webbed  and  turfed  with 
delicate  white  flakes;  iridescent  spots,  marking  the 
path  by  which  the  sun  had  sunk,  showed  all  the 
colours  of  the  dying  dolphin ;  and  low  on  the  horizon 
lay  a  long  band  of  grassy  green.  But  what  was  the 
sound  which  troubled  Mrs.  Leigh?  None  of  them, 
with  their  merry  hearts,  and  ears  dulled  with  the  din 
and  bustle  of  the  town,  had  heard  it  till  that  moment: 
and  yet  now — listen  !  It  was  dead  calm.  There  was 
not  a  breath  to  stir  a  blade  of  grass.  And  yet  the  air 
was  full  of  sound,  a  low  deep  roar  which  hovered 
over  down  and  wood,  salt-marsh  and  river,  like  the 
roll  of  a  thousand  wheels,  the  tramp  of  endless  armies, 
or — what  it  was — the  thunder  of  a  mighty  surge  upon 
the  boulders  of  the  pebble  ridge. 

"The  ridge  is  noisy  to-night,"  said  Sir  Richard. 
"There  has  been  wind  somewhere." 

"  There  is  wind  now,  where  my  boy  is,  God  help 
him  ! "  said  Mrs.  Leigh  :  and  all  knew  that  she  spoke 
truly.  The  spirit  of  the  Atlantic  storm  had  sent 
forward  the  token  of  his  coming,  in  the  smooth 
ground-swell  which  was  heard  inland,  two  miles  away. 


284  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

To-morrow  the  pebbles,  which  were  now  ratthng 
down  with  each  retreating  wave,  might  be  leaping 
to  the  ridge  top,  and  hurled  like  round-shot  far 
ashore  upon  the  marsh  by  the  force  of  the  advancing 
wave,  fleeing  before  the  wrath  of  the  western  hur- 
ricane. 

"  God  help  my  boy  ! "  said  Mrs.  Leigh  again. 

"  God  is  as  near  him  by  sea  as  by  land,"  said  good 
Sir  Richard. 

"  True  :  but  I  am  a  lone  mother ;  and  one  that  has 
no  heart  just  now  but  to  go  home  and  pray." 

And  so  Mrs.  Leigh  went  onward  up  the  lane,  and 
spent  all  that  night  in  listening  between  her  prayers 
to  the  thunder  of  the  surge,  till  it  was  drowned,  long 
ere  the  sun  rose,  in  the  thunder  of  the  storm. 

And  where  is  Amyas  on  this  same  Christmas 
afternoon  1 

Amyas  is  sitting  bare-headed  in  a  boat's  stem  in 
Smerwick  bay,  with  the  spray  whistling  through  his 
curls,  as  he  shouts  cheerfully, — 

"Pull,  and  with  a  will,  my  merry  men  all,  and 
never  mind  shipping  a  sea.  Cannon  balls  are  a  cargo 
that  don't  spoil  by  taking  salt-water." 

His  mother's  presage  has  been  true  enough. 
Christmas-eve  has  been  the  last  of  the  still,  dark, 
steaming  nights  of  the  early  winter ;  .and  the  western 
gale  has  been  roaring  for  the  last  twelve  hours  upon 
the  Irish  coast. 

The  short  light  of  the  winter  day  is  fading  fast. 
Behind  him  is  a  leaping  line  of  billows  lashed  into 
mist  by  the  tempest.     Beside  him  green  foam-fringed 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  285 

columns  are  rushing  up  the  black  rocks,  and  falling 
again  in  a  thousand  cataracts  of  snow.  Before  him  is 
the  deep  and  sheltered  bay  :  but  it  is  not  far  up  the 
bay  that  he  and  his  can  see ;  for  some  four  miles  out 
at  sea  begins  a  sloping  roof  of  thick  grey  cloud,  which 
stretches  over  their  heads,  and  up  and  far  away  inland, 
cutting  the  cliffs  off  at  mid-height,  hiding  all  the  Kerry 
mountains,  and  darkening  the  hollows  of  the  distant 
firths  into  the  blackness  of  night.  And  underneath 
that  awful  roof  of  whirling  mist  the  storm  is  howling 
inland  ever,  sweeping  before  it  the  great  foam-sponges, 
and  the  grey  salt  spray,  till  all  the  land  is  hazy,  dim, 
and  dun.  Let  it  howl  on !  for  there  is  more  mist 
than  ever  salt  spray  made,  flying  before  that  gale; 
more  thunder  than  ever  sea-surge  wakened  echoing 
among  the  cliffs  of  Smerwick  bay ;  along  those  sand- 
hills flash  in  the  evening  gloom  red  sparks  which 
never  came  from  heaven;  for  that  fort,  now  christened 
by  the  invaders  the  Fort  Del  Oro,  where  flaunts  the 
hated  golden  flag  of  Spain,  holds  San  Josepho  and 
eight  hundred  of  the  foe ;  and  but  three  nights  ago, 
Amyas  and  Yeo,  and  the  rest  of  Winter's  shrewdest 
hands,  slung  four  culverins  out  of  the  Admiral's  main 
deck,  and  floated  them  ashore,  and  dragged  them  up 
to  the  battery  among  the  sand-hills ;  and  now  it  shall 
be  seen  whether  Spanish  and  Italian  condottieri  can 
hold  their  own  on  British  ground  against  the  men  of 
Devon. 

Small  blame  to  Amyas  if  he  was  thinking,  not  of 
his  lonely  mother  at  Burrough  Court,  but  of  those 
quick  bright  flashes  on  sand-hill  and  on  fort,  where 


286  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

Salvation  Yeo  was  hurling  the  eighteen-pound  shot 
with  deadly  aim,  and  watching  with  a  cool  and  bitter 
smile  of  triumph,  the  flying  of  the  sand,  and  the 
crashing  of  the  gabions.  Amyas  and  his  party  had 
been  on  board,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  for  a  fresh 
supply  of  shot ;  for  Winter's  battery  was  out  of  ball, 
and  had  been  firing  stones  for  the  last  four  hours,  in 
default  of  better  missiles.  They  ran  the  boat  on  shore 
through  the  surf,  where  a  cove  in  the  shore  made 
landing  possible,  and  almost  careless  whether  she  stove 
or  not,  scrambled  over  the  sand-hills  with  each  man 
his  brace  of  shot  slung  across  his  shoulder :  and 
Amyas,  leaping  into  the  trenches,  shouted  cheerfully 
to  Salvation  Yeo, 

"  More  food  for  the  bull-dogs,  Gunner,  and  plums 
for  the  Spaniards'  Christmas  pudding !" 

"Don't  speak  to  a  man  at  his  business.  Master 
Amyas.  Five  mortal  times  have  I  missed ;  but  I 
will  have  that  accursed  Popish  rag  down,  as  I'm  a 
sinner." 

"  Down  with  it  then ;  nobody  wants  you  to  shoot 
crooked.  Take  good  iron  to  it,  and  not  footy  paving- 
stones." 

"  I  believe,  sir,  that  the  foul  fiend  is  there,  a  turn- 
ing of  my  shot  aside,  I  do.  I  thought  I  saw  him 
once :  but,  thank  heaven,  here's  ball  again.  Ah,  sir, 
if  one  could  but  cast  a  silver  one !  Now,  stand  by, 
men!" 

And  once  again  Yeo's  eighteen-pounder  roared,  and 
away.  And,  oh  glory!  the  great  yellow  flag  of  Spain, 
which  streamed  in  the  gale,  lifted  clean  into  the  air, 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  287 

flagstaff  and  all,  and  then  pitched  wildly  down  head- 
foremost, far  to  leeward. 

A  hurrah  from  the  sailors,  answered  by  the  soldiers 
of  the  opposite  camp,  shook  the  very  cloud  above 
them :  but  ere  its  echoes  had  died  away,  a  tall  officer 
leapt  upon  the  parapet  of  the  fort,  with  the  fallen  flag 
in  his  hand,  and  rearing  it  as  well  as  he  could  upon 
his  lance  point,  held  it  firmly  against  the  gale,  while 
the  fallen  flagstaff  was  raised  again  within. 

In  a  moment  a  dozen  long  bows  were  bent  at  the 
daring  foeman  :  but  Amy  as  behind  shouted, — 

"  Shame,  lads  !  Stop,  and  let  the  gallant  gentleman 
have  due  courtesy ! " 

So  they  stopped,  while  Amyas,  springing  on  the 
rampart  of  the  battery,  took  off  his  hat,  and  bowed  to 
the  flag-holder,  who,  as  soon  as  relieved  of  his  charge, 
returned  the  bow  courteously,  and  descended. 

It  was  by  this  time  all  but  dark,  and  the  firing 
began  to  slacken  on  all  sides;  Salvation  and  his 
brother  gunners,  having  covered  up  their  slaughtering 
tackle  with  tarpaulings,  retired  for  the  night,  leaving 
Amyas,  who  had  volunteered  to  take  the  watch  till 
midnight ;  and  the  rest  of  the  force  having  got  their 
scanty  supper  of  biscuit  (for  provisions  were  running 
very  short)  lay  down  under  arms  among  the  sand-hills, 
and  grumbled  themselves  to  sleep. 

He  had  paced  up  and  down  in  the  gusty  darkness 
for  some  hour  or  more,  exchanging  a  passing  word  now 
and  then  with  the  sentinel,  when  two  men  entered  the 
battery,  chatting  busily  together  One  was  in  com- 
plete armour ;  the  other  wrapt  in  the  plain  short  cloak 


288  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

of  a  man  of  pens  and  peace  :  but  the  talk  of  both  was 
neither  of  sieges  nor  of  sallies,  catapult,  bombard,  nor 
culverin,  but  simply  of  English  hexameters. 

And  fancy  not,  gentle  reader,  that  the  two  were 
therein  fiddhng  while  Rome  was  burning;  for  the 
commonweal  of  poetry  and  letters,  in  that  same  critical 
year  1580,  was  in  far  greater  danger  from  those  same 
hexameters,  than  the  common  woe  of  Ireland  (as 
Raleigh  called  it)  was  from  the  Spaniards. 

Imitating  the  classic  metres,  "  versifying,"  as  it  was 
called  in  contradistinction  to  rhyming,  was  becoming 
fast  the  fashion  among  the  more  learned.  Stonyhurst 
and  others  had  tried  their  hands  at  hexameter  transla- 
tions from  the  Latin  and  Greek  epics,  which  seem  to 
have  been  doggerel  enough ;  and,  ever  and  anon,  some 
youthful  wit  broke  out  in  iambics,  sapphics,  elegiacs, 
and  what  not,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  Queen's 
English  and  her  subjects'  ears. 

I  know  not  whether  Mr.  William  Webbe,  had  yet 
given  to  the  world  any  fragments  of  his  precious  hints 
for  the  "Reformation  of  English  poetry,"  to  the  tune 
of  his  own  "Tityrus,  happily  thou  liest  tumbling 
under  a  beech -tree:"  but  the  Cambridge  Malvolio, 
Gabriel  Harvey,  had  succeeded  in  arguing  Spenser, 
Dyer,  Sidney,  and  probably  Sidney's  sister,  and  the 
whole  clique  of  beaux-esprits  round  them,  into  follow- 
ing his  model  of 

**  What  might  I  call  this  tree  ?     A  laurel  ?    0  bonny  laurel ! 
Need.es  to  thy  bowes  will  I  bowe  this  knee,  and  vail  my 
bonetto  ;" 

after  snubbing  the  first  book  of  "  that  Elvish  Queene," 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  289 

which  was  then  in  manuscript,  as  a  base  declension 

from  the  classical  to  the  romantic  school. 

And  now  Spenser  (perhaps  in  mere  melancholy 

wilfulness  and  want  of  purpose,  for  he  had  just  been 

jilted  by  a  fair  maid  of  Kent)  was  wasting  his  mighty 

genius  upon  doggerel  which  he  fancied  antique  ;  and 

some  piratical  publisher  (Bitter  Tom  Nash  swears,  and 

with  likelihood,  that  Harvey  did  it  himself)  had  just 

given  to  the  world, — "  Three  proper  wittie  and  famiHar 

Letters,   lately  past   between  two  University  men, 

touching  the  Earthquake  in  April  last,  and  our  English 

reformed  Versifying,"  which  had  set  all  town  wits  a- 

buzzing  like  a  swarm  of  flies,  being  none  other  than  a 

correspondence  between  Spenser  and  Harvey,  which 

was  to  prove  to  the  world  for  ever  the  correctness  and 

melody  of  such  lines  as, 

"  For  like  magnificoes,  not  a  beck  but  glorious  in  show, 
In  deede  most  frivolous,  not  a  looke  but  Tuscanish  always." 

Let  them  pass — Alma  Mater  has  seen  as  bad  hexa- 
meters since.  But  then  the  matter  was  serious.  There 
is  a  story  (I  know  not  how  true),  that  Spenser  was 
half  bullied  into  re-wiiting  the  "Fairy  Queen"  in 
hexameters,  had  not  Raleigh,  a  true  romanticist, 
"whose  vein  for  ditty  or  amorous  ode  was  most  lofty, 
insolent,  and  passionate,"  persuaded  him  to  follow  his 
better  genius.  The  great  dramatists  had  not  yet 
arisen,  to  form  completely  that  truly  English  school, 
of  which  Spenser,  unconscious  of  his  own  vast  powers, 
was  laying  the  foundation.  And,  indeed,  it  was  not 
till  Daniel,  twenty  years  after,  in  his  admirable  apology 
for  rhyme,  had  smashed  Mr.  Campion  and  his  "eight 
VOL.  I.  U  w.  H. 


290  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

several  kinds  of  classical  numbers,"  that  the  matter 
was  finally  settled,  and  the  English  tongue  left  to  go 
the  road  on  which  heaven  had  started  it.  So  that  we 
may  excuse  Ealeigh's  answering  somewhat  waspish  to 
some  quotation  of  Spenser's  from  the  three  letters  of 
"ImmeritoandG.  H." 

"Tut,  tut,  Colin  Clout,  much  learning  has  made 
thee  mad.  A  good  old  fishwives'  ballad  jingle  is  worth 
all  your  sapphics  and  trimeters,  and  '  riff-raff  thurlery 
bouncing.'  Hey  1  have  I  you  there,  old  lad  1  Do  you 
mind  that  precious  verse  f 

"  But,  dear  Wat,  Homer  and  Virgil " 

"But,  dear  Ned,  Petrarch  and  Ovid " 

"But,  Wat,  what  have  we  that  we  do  not  owe  to 
the  ancients '2" 

"Ancients,  quotha  1  Why,  the  legend  of  King 
Arthur,  and  Chevy  Chase  too,  of  which  even  your 
fellow-sinner  Sidney  cannot  deny  that  every  time  he 
hears  it  even  from  a  blind  fiddler  it  stirs  his  heart  like 
a  trumpet-blast.  Speak  well  of  the  bridge  that  carries 
you  over,  man  !  Did  you  find  your  Eedcross  Knight 
in  Virgil,  or  such  a  dame  as  Una  in  old  Ovid  1  No 
more  than  you  did  your  Pater  and  Credo,  you  renegado 
baptized  heathen,  you ! " 

"Yet,  surely,  our  younger  and  more  barbarous 
taste  must  bow  before  divine  antiquity,  and  imitate 
afar " 

"  As  dottrels  do  fowlers.  If  Homer  was  blind,  lad, 
why  dost  not  poke  out  thine  eye  1  Ay,  this  hexameter 
is  of  an  ancient  house,  truly,  Ned  Spenser,  and  so  is 
many  a  rogue  :  but  he  cannot  make  way  on  our  rough 


HIS  CHKISTMAS  DAY.  291 

English  roads.     He  goes  hopping  and  twitching  in 
our  language  like  a  three-legged  terrier  over  a  pebble- 
bank,  tumble  and  uj)  again,  rattle  and  crash." 
"Nay,  hear,  now — 

' '  See  ye  the  blindfolded  pretty  god  that  feathered  archer, 
Of  lovers'  miseries  which  maketh  his  bloody  game?^ 

True,  the  accent  gapes  in  places,  as  I  have  often  con- 
fessed to  Harvey,  but " 

"  Harvey  be  hanged  for  a  pedant,  and  the  whole 
crew  of  versifiers,  from  Lord  Dorset  (but  he,  poor 
man,  has  been  past  hanging  some  time  since)  to  your- 
self !  Why  delude  you  into  playing  Procrustes  as  he 
does  with  the  Queen's  English,  racking  one  word  till 
its  joints  be  pulled  asunder,  and  squeezing  the  next 
all  a-heap  as  the  Inquisitors  do  heretics  in  their  banca 
cava*?  Out  upon  him  and  you,  and  Sidney,  and  the 
whole  kin.  You  have  not  made  a  verse  among  you, 
and  never  will,  which  is  not  as  lame  a  gosling  as 
Harvey's  own — 

'  Oh  thou  weathercocke,  that  stands  on  the  top  of  Allhallows, 
Come  thy  ways  down,  if  thou  dar'st  for  thy  crown,  and  take 
the  wall  on  us. ' 

"  Hark,  now !  There  is  our  young  giant  comfort- 
ing his  soul  with  a  ballad.  You  will  hear  rhyme  and 
reason  together  here,  now.  He  will  not  miscall 
'blind-folded,'  '  blind-fold-ed,'  I  warrant;  or  make  an 
'  of '  and  a  '  which '  and  a  *  his  '  carry  a  whole  verse 
on  their  wretched  little  backs." 

And  as  he  spoke,  Amyas,  who  had  been  grumbling 

^  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  distich  is  Spenser's  own  ;  and 
the  other  hexameters  are  all  authentic. 


292  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

to  himself  some   Christmas    carol,   broke   out   full- 
mouthed  : — 

*•  As  Joseph  was  a- walking 
He  heard  an  angel  sing — 
*  This  night  shall  be  the  birth  night 
Of  Christ,  our  heavenly  King. 

His  bu'thbed  shall  be  neither 
In  housen  nor  in  hall, 
Nor  in  the  place  of  paradise, 
But  in  the  oxen's  stall. 

He  neither  shall  be  rocked 
In  silver  nor  in  gold, 
But  in  the  wooden  manger 
That  lieth  on  the  mould. 

He  neither  shall  be  washen 
With  white  wine  nor  with  red, 
But  with  the  fair  spring  water 
That  on  you  shall  be  shed 

He  neither  shall  be  clothed 
In  purple  nor  in  pall. 
But  in  the  fair  white  linen 
That  usen  babies  all.' 

As  Joseph  was  a-walking 
Thus  did  the  angel  sing, 
And  Mary's  Son  at  midnight 
Was  born  to  be  our  King. 

Then  be  you  glad,  good  people, 
At  this  time  of  the  year  ; 
And  light  you  up  your  candles. 
For  His  star  it  shineth  clear." 

"There,    Edmunde    Classicaster,"    said    Ealeigh, 
"does  not  that  simple  strain  go  nearer  to  the  heart 


HIS  CHEISTMAS  DAY.  293 

of  him  who  wrote  "The  Shepherd's  Calendar,"  than  all 
artificial  and  outlandish 

'  Wote  ye  why  his  mother  with  a  veil  hath  covered  his  face  ? ' 
Why  dost  not  answer,  man?" 

But  Spenser  was  silent  awhile,  and  then, — 
"  Because  I  was  thinking  rather  of  the  rhymer  than 
the  rhyrne.  Good  heaven !  how  that  brave  lad  shames 
me,  singing  here  the  hymns  which  his  mother  taught 
him,  before  the  very  muzzles  of  Spanish  guns;  instead 
of  bewailing  unmanly,  as  I  have  done,  the  love  which 
he  held,  I  doubt  not,  as  dear  as  I  did  even  my  Eosa- 
lind.  This  is  his  welcome  to  the  winter's  storm; 
while  I,  who  dream,  forsooth,  of  heavenly  inspiration, 
can  but  see  therein  an  image  of  mine  own  cowardly 
despair. 

*  Thou  barren  gi'ound,  whom  "Winter's  wrath  has  wasted, 
Art  made  a  mirror  to  behold  my  plight. '  ^ 

Pah !  away  with  frosts,  icicles,  and  tears,  and  sighs " 

"And  with  hexameters  and  trimeters  too,  I  hope," 
interrupted  Ealeigh :  "  and  all  the  trickeries  of  self- 
pleasing  sorrow." 

" 1  will  set  my  heart  to  higher  work,  than 

barking  at  the  hand  which  chastens  me." 

"Wilt  put  the  lad  into  the  'Fairy  Queen,'  then, 
by  my  side?  He  deserves  as  good  a  place  there, 
believe  me,  as  ever  a  Guyon,  or  even  as  Lord  Grey 
your  Arthegall.  Let  us  hail  him.  Hallo !  young 
chanticleer  of  Devon !  Art  not  afraid  of  a  chance 
shot,  that  thou  crowest  so  lustily  upon  thine  own 
mixen  ?" 

1  ''The  Shepherd's  Calendar." 


294  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

"Cocks  crow  all  night  long  at  Christmas,  Captain 
Raleigh,  and  so  do  I,"  said  Amyas's  cheerful  voice ; 
"but  who's  there  with  youf 

"A  penitent  pupil  of  yours — Mr.  Secretary  Spenser." 

"  Pupil  of  mine  f  said  Amyas.  "  I  wish  he'd  teach 
me  a  little  of  his  art;  I  could  fill  up  my  time  here 
with  making  verses." 

"And  who  would  be  your  theme,  fair  sirf  said 
Spenser. 

"  No  '  who '  at  all.  I  don't  want  to  make  sonnets 
to  blue  eyes,  nor  black  either :  but  if  I  could  put 
down  some  of  the  things  I  saw  in  the  Spice  Islands " 

"Ah,"  said  Raleigh,  "he  would  beat  you  out  of 
Parnassus,  Mr.  Secretary.  Remember,  you  may  write 
about  Fairyland,  but  he  has  seen  it." 

"And  so  have  others,"  said  Spenser;  "it  is  not  so  far 
off  from  any  one  of  us.  Wherever  is  love  and  loyalty, 
great  purposes,  and  lofty  souls,  even  though  in  a  hovel 
or  a  mine,  there  is  Fairyland." 

"Then  Fairyland  should  be  here,  friend;  for  you 
represent  love,  and  Leigh  loyalty ;  while,  as  for  great 
purposes  and  lofty  souls,  who  so  fit  to  stand  for  them, 
as  I,  being  (unless  my  enemies  and  my  conscience  are 
liars  both)  as  ambitious  and  as  proud  as  Lucifer's  own 
selff 

"  Ah,  Walter,  Walter,  why  wilt  always  slander  thy- 
self thus  f' 

"Slander*?  Tut. — I  do  but  give  the  world  a  fair 
challenge,  and  tell  it,  '  There — you  know  the  worst  of 
me :  come  on  and  try  a  fall,  for  either  you  or  I  must 
down. '    Slander  %    Ask  Leigh  here,  who  has  but  known 


HIS  CHEISTMAS  DAY.  295 

me  a  fortnight,  whether  I  am  not  as  vain  as  a  peacock, 
as  selfish  as  a  fox,  as  imperious  as  a  bona  roba,  and 
ready  to  make  a  cat's  paw  of  him  or  any  man,  if  there 
be  a  chestnut  in  the  fire  :  and  yet  the  poor  fool  cannot 
help  loving  me,  and  running  of  my  errands,  and  tak- 
ing all  my  schemes  and  my  dreams  for  gospel ;  and 
verily  believes  now,  I  think,  that  I  shall  be  the  man 
in  the  moon  some  day,  and  he  my  big  dog." 

"Well,"  said  Amyas,  half  apologetically,  "if  you 
are  the  cleverest  man  in  the  world  what  harm  in  my 
thinking  sof 

"  Hearken  to  him,  Edmund  !  He  will  know  better 
when  he  has  outgrown  this  same  callow  trick  of 
honesty,  and  learnt  of  the  great  goddess  Detraction 
how  to  show  himself  wiser  than  the  wise,  by  pointing 
out  to  the  world  the  fool's  motley  which  peeps  through 
the  rents  in  the  philosopher's  cloak.  Go  to,  lad ! 
slander  thy  equals,  envy  thy  betters,  pray  for  an  eye 
which  sees  spots  in  every  sun,  and  for  a  vulture's  nose 
to  scent  carrion  in  every  rose-bed.  If  thy  friend  win 
a  battle,  show  that  he  has  needlessly  thrown  away  his 
men ;  if  he  lose  one,  hint  that  he  sold  it ;  if  he  rise  to 
a  place,  argue  favour ;  if  he  fall  from  one,  argue  divine 
justice.  Believe  nothing,  hope  nothing,  but  endure 
all  things,  even  to  kicking,  if  aught  may  be  got 
thereby ;  so  shalt  thou  be  clothed  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  and  sit  in  king's  palaces,  and  fare  sumptuously 
every  day." 

"And  wake  with  Dives  in  the  torment,"  said 
Amyas.     "Thank  you  for  nothing,  Captain." 

"  Go  to,  Misanthropes,"  said  Spenser.     "  Thou  hast 


296  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

not  yet  tasted  the  sweets  of  this  world's  comfits,  and 
thou  railest  at  themf 

"The  grapes  are  sour,  lad." 

"And  will  be  to  the  end,"  said  Amyas,  "if  they 
come  off  such  a  devil's  tree  as  that.  I  really  think  you 
are  out  of  your  mind,  Captain  Ealeigh,  at  times." 

"  I  wish  I  were ;  for  it  is  a  troublesome,  hungry, 
windy  mind  as  man  ever  was  cursed  withal.  But  come 
in,  lad.  We  were  sent  from  the  Lord  Deputy  to  bid 
thee  to  supper.  There  is  a  dainty  lump  of  dead  horse 
waiting  for  thee." 

"Send  me  some  out,  then,"  said  matter-of-fact 
Amyas.  "  And  tell  his  Lordship  that,  with  his  good 
leave,  I  don't  stir  from  here  till  morning,  if  I  can  keep 
awake.  There  is  a  stir  in  the  fort,  and  I  expect  them 
out  on  us." 

"  Tut,  man  !  their  hearts  are  broken.  We  know  it 
by  their  deserters." 

"  Seeing's  believing.  I  never  trust  runaway  rogues. 
If  they  are  false  to  their  masters  they'll  be  false  to  us." 

"Well,  go  thy  ways,  old  honesty;  and  Mr.  Secre- 
tary shall  give  you  a  book  to  yourself  in  the  '  Fairy 
Queen ' — '  Sir  Monoculus,  or  the  Legend  of  Common 
Sense,' eh,  Edmund  f 

"Monoculus?" 

"  Ay,  Single-eye,  my  prince  of  word-coiners — won't 
that  fit  1 — And  give  him  the  Cyclop's  head  for  a  device. 
Heigho !  They  may  laugh  that  win.  I  am  sick  of 
this  Irish  work ;  were  it  not  for  the  chance  of  advance- 
ment I'd  sooner  be  driving  a  team  of  red  Devons  on 
Dartside ;  and  now  I  am  angry  with  the  dear  lad  be- 


HIS  CHKISTMAS  DAY.  297 

cause  he  is  not  sick  of  it  too.  What  a  plague  business 
has  he  to  he  paddHng  up  and  down,  contentedly  doing 
his  duty,  like  any  city  watchman  *?  It  is  an  insult  to 
the  mighty  aspirations  of  our  nobler  hearts, — eh,  my 
would-be  Ariosto?" 

"Ah,  Raleigh!  you  can  afford  to  confess  yourself 
less  than  some,  for  you  are  greater  than  all.  Go  on 
and  conquer,  noble  heart !  But  as  for  me,  I  sow  the 
wind,  and  I  suppose  I  shall  reap  the  whirlwind." 

"Your  harvest  seems  come  already;  what  a  blast 
that  was  !  Hold  on  by  me,  Colin  Clout,  and  I'll  hold 
on  by  thee.  So !  Don't  tread  on  that  pikeman's 
stomach,  lest  he  take  thee  for  a  marauding  Don,  and 
with  sudden  dagger  slit  CoHn's  pipe,  and  Colin's 
weasand  too." 

And  the  two  stumbled  away  into  the  darkness, 
leaving  Amyas  to  stride  up  and  down  as  before, 
puzzling  his  brains  over  Ealeigh's  wild  words  and 
Spenser's  melancholy,  till  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  was  some  mysterious  connection  between 
cleverness  and  unhappiness,  and  thanking  his  stars 
that  he  was  neither  scholar,  courtier,  nor  poet,  said 
grace  over  his  lump  of  horseflesh  when  it  arrived, 
devoured  it  as  if  it  had  been  venison,  and  then  re- 
turned to  his  pacing  up  and  down ;  but  this  time  in 
silence,  for  the  night  was  drawing  on,  and  there  was 
no  need  to  tell  the  Spaniards  that  any  one  was  awake 
and  watching. 

So  he  began  to  think  about  his  mother,  and  how 
she  might  be  spending  her  Christmas ;  and  then  about 
Frank,  and  wondered  at  what  grand  Court  festival  he 


298  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

was  assisting,  amid  bright  lights  and  sweet  music  and 
gay  ladies,  and  how  he  was  dressed,  and  whether  he 
thought  of  his  brother  there  far  away  on  the  dark 
Atlantic  shore ;  and  then  he  said  his  prayers  and  his 
creed;  and  then  he  tried  not  to  think  of  Rose  Salterne, 
and  of  course  thought  about  her  all  the  more.  So  on 
passed  the  dull  hours,  till  it  might  be  past  eleven 
o'clock,  and  all  lights  were  out  in  the  battery  and  the 
shipping,  and  there  was  no  sound  of  living  thing  but 
the  monotonous  tramp  of  the  two  sentinels  beside 
him,  and  now  and  then  a  grunt  from  the  party  who 
slept  under  arms  some  twenty  yards  to  the  rear. 

So  he  paced  to  and  fro,  looking  carefully  out  now 
and  then  over  the  strip  of  sand-hill  which  lay  between 
him  and  the  fort ;  but  all  was  blank  and  black,  and 
moreover  it  began  to  rain  furiously. 

Suddenly  he  seemed  to  hear  a  rustle  among  the 
harsh  sand -grass.  True,  the  wind  was  whistling 
through  it  loudly  enough :  but  that  sound  was  not 
altogether  like  the  wind.  Then  a  soft  sliding  noise ; 
something  had  slipped  down  a  bank,  and  brought  the 
sand  down  after  it.  Amyas  stopped,  crouched  down 
beside  a  gun,  and  laid  his  ear  to  the  rampart,  whereby 
he  heard  clearly,  as  he  thought,  the  noise  of  approach- 
ing feet ;  whether  rabbits  or  Christians,  he  knew  not : 
but  he  shrewdly  guessed  the  latter. 

Now  Amyas  was  of  a  sober  and  business-like  turn, 
at  least  when  he  was  not  in  a  passion ;  and  thinking 
within  himself  that  if  he  made  any  noise,  the  enemy 
(whether  four  or  two-legged)  would  retire,  and  all  the 
sport  be  lost,  he  did  not  call  to  the  two  sentries,  who 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  299 

were  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  battery ;  neither  did 
he  think  it  worth  while  to  rouse  the  sleeping  company, 
lest  his  ears  should  have  deceived  him,  and  the  whole 
camp  turn  out  to  repulse  the  attack  of  a  buck  rabbit. 
So  he  crouched  lower  and  lower  beside  the  culverin, 
and  was  rewarded  in  a  minute  or  two  by  hearing  some- 
thing gently  deposited  against  the  mouth  of  the  embra- 
sure, which,  by  the  noise,  should  be  a  piece  of  timber. 

"So  far,  so  good,"  said  he  to  himself j  "when  the 
scaling  ladder  is  up,  the  soldier  follows,  I  suppose.  I 
can  only  humbly  thank  them  for  giving  my  embrasure 
the  preference.  There  he  comes !  I  hear  his  feet 
scuffling." 

He  could  hear  plainly  enough  some  one  working 
himself  into  the  mouth  of  the  embrasure :  but  the 
plague  was,  that  it  was  so  dark  that  he  could  not  see 
his  hand  between  him  and  the  sky,  much  less  his  foe 
at  two  yards  off.  However,  he  made  a  pretty  fair 
guess  as  to  the  whereabouts,  and,  rising  softly,  dis- 
charged such  a  blow  downwards  as  would  have  split 
a  yule  log.  A  volley  of  sparks  flew  up  from  the  hap- 
less Spaniard's  armour,  and  a  grunt  issued  from  within 
it,  which  proved  that,  whether  he  was  killed  or  not, 
the  blow  had  not  improved  his  respiration. 

Amyas  felt  for  his  head,  seized  it,  dragged  him  in 
over  the  gun,  sprang  into  the  embrasure  on  his  knees, 
felt  for  the  top  of  the  ladder,  found  it,  hove  it  clean 
off  and  out,  with  four  or  five  men  on  it,  and  then  of 
course  tumbled  after  it  ten  feet  into  the  sand,  roaring 
like  a  town  bull  to  her  Majesty's  liege  subjects  in 
general. 


300  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

Sailor-fashion,  he  had  no  armour  on  but  a  light 
morion  and  a  cuirass,  so  he  was  not  too  much  encum- 
bered to  prevent  his  springing  to  his  legs  instantly, 
and  setting  to  work,  cutting  and  f oining  right  and  left 
at  every  sound,  for  sight  there  was  none. 

Battles  (as  soldiers  know,  and  newspaper  editors 
do  not)  are  usually  fought,  not  as  they  ought  to  be 
fought,  but  as  they  can  be  fought;  and  while  the 
literary  man  is  laying  down  the  law  at  his  desk  as  to 
how  many  troops  should  be  moved  here,  and  what 
rivers  should  be  crossed  there,  and  where  the  cavalry 
should  have  been  brought  up,  and  when  the  flank 
should  have  been  turned,  the  wretched  man  who  has 
to  do  the  work  finds  the  matter  settled  for  him  by 
pestilence,  want  of  shoes,  empty  stomachs,  bad  roads, 
heavy  rains,  hot  suns,  and  a  thousand  other  stern 
warriors  who  never  show  on  paper. 

So  with  this  skirmish ;  "  according  to  Cocker,"  it 
ought  to  have  been  a  very  pretty  one ;  for  Hercules 
of  Pisa,  who  planned  the  sortie,  had  arranged  it  all 
(being  a  very  sans-appel  in  all  military  science)  upon 
the  best  Italian  precedents,  and  had  brought  against 
this  very  hapless  battery  a  column  of  a  hundred  to 
attack  directly  in  front,  a  company  of  fifty  to  turn  the 
right  flankj  and  a  company  of  fifty  to  turn  the  left 
flank,  with  regulations,  orders,  passwords,  countersigns, 
and  what  not;  so  that  if  every  man  had  had  his  rights 
(as  seldom  happens),  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena 
de  Soto,  who  commanded  the  sortie,  ought  to  have 
taken  the  work  out  of  hand,  annihilated  all  therein. 
But   alas !    here   stern   fate   interfered.      They  had 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  301 

chosen  a  dark  night,  as  was  politic ;  they  had  waited 
till  the  moon  was  up,  lest  it  should  be  too  dark,  as 
was  politic  likewise  :  but,  just  as  they  had  started,  on 
came  a  heavy  squall  of  rain,  through  which  seven 
moons  would  have  given  no  light,  and  which  washed 
out  the  plans  of  Hercules  of  Pisa  as  if  they  had  been 
written  on  a  schoolboy's  slate.  The  company  who 
were  to  turn  the  left  flank  walked  manfully  down  into 
the  sea,  and  never  found  out  where  they  were  going 
till  they  were  knee-deep  in  water.  The  company  who 
were  to  turn  the  right  flank,  bewildered  by  the  utter 
darkness,  turned  their  own  flank  so  often,  that  tired 
of  falling  into  rabbit-burrows  and  filling  their  mouths 
with  sand,  they  halted  and  prayed  to  all  the  saints  for 
a  compass  and  lantern ;  while  the  centre  body,  who 
held  straight  on  by  a  trackway  to  within  fifty  yards 
of  the  battery,  so  miscalculated  that  short  distance, 
that  while  they  thought  the  ditch  two  pikes'  length 
off",  they  fell  into  it  one  over  the  other,  and  of  six 
scaling  ladders,  the  only  one  which  could  be  found 
was  the  very  one  which  Amyas  threw  down  again. 
After  which  the  clouds  broke,  the  wind  shifted,  and 
the  moon  shone  out  merrily.  And  so  was  the  deep 
policy  of  Hercules  of  Pisa,  on  which  hung  the  fate  of 
Ireland  and  the  Papacy,  decided  by  a  ten  minutes' 
squall. 

But  where  is  Amyas  *? 

In  the  ditch,  aware  that  the  enemy  is  tumbling  into 
it,  but  unable  to  find  them ;  while  the  company  above, 
finding  it  much  too  dark  to  attempt  a  counter  sortie, 
have  opened  a  smart  fire  of  musketrv  and  arrows  on 


302  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

things  in  general,  whereat  the  Spaniards  are  swearing 
like  Spaniards  (I  need  say  no  more),  and  the  Italians 
spitting  like  venomous  cats ;  while  Amyas,  not  wish- 
ing to  be  riddled  by  friendly  balls,  has  got  his  back 
against  the  foot  of  the  rampart,  and  waits  on  Pro- 
vidence. 

Suddenly  the  moon  clears ;  and  with  one  more  fierce 
volley,  the  English  sailors,  seeing  the  confusion,  leap 
down  from  the  embrasures,  and  to  it  pell-mell. 
Whether  this  also  was  "according  to  Cocker,"  I  know 
not :  but  the  sailor,  then  as  now,  is  not  susceptible  of 
highly-finished  drill. 

Amyas  is  now  in  his  element,  and  so  are  the  brave 
fellows  at  his  heels;  and  there  are  ten  breathless, 
furious  minutes  among  the  sand-hills;  and  then  the 
trumpets  blow  a  recal,  and  the  sailors  drop  back  again 
by  twos  and  threes,  and  are  helped  up  into  the  em- 
brasures over  many  a  dead  and  dying  foe ;  while  the 
guns  of  Fort  del  Oro  open  on  them,  and  blaze  away 
for  half-an-hour  without  reply;  and  i<hen  all  is  still 
once  more.  And  in  the  meanwhile,  the  sortie  against 
the  Deputy's  camp  has  fared  no  better,  and  the  victory 
of  the  night  remains  with  the  English. 

Twenty  minutes  after,  Winter  and  the  captains  who 
were  on  shore  were  drying  themselves  round  a  peat- 
fire  on  the  beach,  and  talking  over  the  skirmish,  when 
Will  Gary  asked — 

"  Where  is  Leigh  1  who  has  seen  him  1  I  am  sadly 
afraid  he  has  gone  too  far,  and  been  slain." 

"  Slain?  Never  less,  gentlemen ! "  replied  the  voice 
of  the  very  person  in  question,  as  he  stalked  out  of 


HIS  CHKISTMAS  DAY.  303 

the  darkness  into  the  glare  of  the  fire,  and  shot  down 
from  his  shoulders  into  the  midst  of  the  ring,  as  he 
might  a  sack  of  corn,  a  huge  dark  body,  which  was 
gradually  seen  to  be  a  man  in  rich  armour ;  who  being 
so  shot  down,  lay  quietly  where  he  was  dropped,  with 
his  feet  (luckily  for  him  mailed)  in  the  fire. 

"  I  say,"  quoth  Amyas,  "  some  of  you  had  better 
take  him  up,  if  he  is  to  be  of  any  use.  Unlace  his 
helm.  Will  Gary." 

"  Pull  his  feet  out  of  the  embers ;  I  dare  say  he 
would  have  been  glad  enough  to  put  us  to  the  scarpines ; 
but  that's  no  reason  we  should  put  him  to  them." 

As  has  been  hinted,  there  was  no  love  lost 
between  Admiral  Winter  and  Amyas;  and  Amyas 
might  certainly  have  reported  himself  in  a  more  cere- 
monious manner.  So  Winter,  whom  Amyas  either 
had  not  seen,  or  had  not  chosen  to  see,  asked  him 
pretty  sharply,  "  AVhat  the  plague  he  had  to  do  with 
bringing  dead  men  into  campf 

"If  he's  dead,  it's  not  my  fault.  He  was  alive 
enough  when  I  started  with  him,  and  I  kept  him  right 
end  uppermost  all  the  way ;  and  what  would  you  have 
more,  sirf 

"Mr.  Leigh!"  said  Winter,  "it  behoves  you  to 
speak  with  somewhat  more  courtesy,  if  not  respect,  to 
captains  who  are  your  elders  and  commanders." 

"Ask  your  pardon,  sir,"  said  the  giant,  as  he  stood 
in  front  of  the  fire  with  the  rain  steaming  and  smoking 
off  his  armour ;  "  but  I  was  bred  in  a  school  where 
getting  good  service  done  was  more  esteemed  than 
making  fine  speeches." 


304  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

"  Whatsoever  school  you  were  trained  in,  sir,"  said 
Winter,  nettled  at  the  hint  about  Drake  ;  "it  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  one  in  which  you  learned  to 
obey  orders.  Why  did  you  not  come  in  when  the 
recal  was  sounded  f 

"Because,"  said  Amyas,  very  coolly,  "in  the  first 
place,  I  did  not  hear  it ;  and  in  the  next,  in  my  school 
I  was  taught  when  I  had  once  started  not  to  come 
home  empty-handed." 

This  was  too  pointed ;  and  Winter  sprang  up  with 
an  oath — "Do  you  mean  to  insult  me,  sirf 

"I  am  sorry,  sir,  that  you  should  take  a  compli- 
ment to  Sir  Francis  Drake  as  an  insult  to  yourself. 
I  brought  in  this  gentleman  because  I  thought  he 
might  give  you  good  information;  if  he  dies  mean- 
while, the  loss  will  be  yours,  or  rather  the  Queen's." 

"Help  me,  then,"  said  Gary,  glad  to  create  a 
diversion  in  Amyas's  favour,  "  and  we  will  bring  him 
round;"  while  Ealeigh  rose,  and  catching  Winter's 
arm,  drew  him  aside,  and  began  talking  earnestly. 

"  What  a  murrain  have  you,  Leigh,  to  quarrel  with 
Winter*?"  asked  two  or  three. 

"I  say,  my  reverend  fathers  and  dear  children,  do 
get  the  Don's  talking  tackle  free  again,  and  leave  me 
and  the  Admiral  to  settle  it  our  own  way." 

There  was  more  than  one  captain  sitting  in  the 
ring:  but  discipline,  and  the  degrees  of  rank,  were 
not  so  severely  defined  as  now;  and  Amyas,  as  a 
"  gentleman  adventurer,"  was,  on  land,  in  a  position 
very  difficult  to  be  settled,  though  at  sea  he  was  as 
liable  to  be  hanged  as  any  other  person  on  board ; 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  305 

and  on  the  whole  it  was  found  expedient  to  patch 
the  matter  up.  So  Captain  Raleigh  returning,  said 
that  though  Admiral  Winter  had  doubtless  taken 
umbrage  at  certain  words  of  Mr.  Leigh's,  yet  that  he 
had  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Leigh  meant  nothing  thereby 
but  what  was  consistent  with  the  profession  of  a 
•soldier  and  a  gentleman,  and  worthy  both  of  himself 
and  of  the  Admiral. 

From  which  proposition  Amyas  found  it  impossible 
to  dissent ;  whereon  Raleigh  went  back,  and  informed 
Winter  that  Leigh  had  freely  retracted  his  words,  and 
fully  wiped  off  any  imputation  which  Mr.  Winter 
might  conceive  to  have  been  put  upon  him,  and  so 
forth.  So  Winter  returned,  and  Amyas  said  frankly 
enough, — 

"Admiral  Winter,  I  hope,  as  a  loyal  soldier,  that 
you  will  understand  thus  far ;  that  naught  which  has 
passed  to-night  shall  in  any  way  prevent  you  finding 
me  a  forward  and  obedient  servant  to  all  your  com- 
mands, be  they  what  they  may,  and  a  supporter  of 
your  authority  among  the  men,  and  honour  against  the 
foe,  even  with  my  life.  For  I  should  be  ashamed  if 
private  differences  should  ever  prejudice  by  a  grain  the 
public  weal." 

This  was  a  great  effort  of  oratory  for  Amyas ;  and 
he  therefore,  in  order  to  be  safe  by  following  precedent, 
tried  to  talk  as  much  as  he  could  like  Sir  Richard 
Grenvile.  Of  course  Winter  could  answer  nothing  to 
it,  in  spite  of  the  plain  hint  of  private  differences,  but 
that  he  should  not  fail  to  show  himself  a  captain 
worthy  of  so  valiant  and  trusty  a  gentleman ;  whereon 

VOL.  I.  X  w.  n. 


306  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

the  whole  party  turned  their  attention  to  the  captive, 
who,  thanks  to  Will  Gary,  was  by  this  time  sitting  up, 
standing  much  in  need  of  a  handkerchief,  and  looking 
about  him,  having  been  unhelmed,  in  a  confused  and 
doleful  manner. 

"Take  the  gentleman  to  my  tent,"  said  Winter, 
"  and  let  the  surgeon  see  to  him.  Mr.  Leigh,  who  is 
he? " 

"An  enemy,  but  whether  Spaniard  or  Italian  I 
know  not ;  but  he  seemed  somebody  among  them,  I 
thought  the  captain  of  a  company.  He  and  I  cut  at 
each  other  twice  or  thrice  at  first,  and  then  lost  each 
other ;  and  after  that  I  came  on  him  among  the  sand- 
hills, trying  to  rally  his  men,  and  swearing  like  the 
mouth  of  the  pit,  whereby  I  guess  him  a  Spaniard. 
But  his  men  ran ;  so  I  brought  him  in." 

"And  how?"  asked  Raleigh.  "Thou  art  giving 
us  all  the  play  but  the  murders  and  the  marriages." 

"  Why,  I  bid  him  yield,  and  he  would  not.  Then 
I  bid  him  run,  and  he  would  not.  And  it  was  too 
pitch-dark  for  fighting ;  so  I  took  him  by  the  ears,  and 
shook  the  wind  out  of  him,  and  so  brought  him  in." 

"Shook  the  wind  out  of  himf  cried  Gary,  amid 
the  roar  of  laughter  which  followed.  "Dost  know 
thou  hast  nearly  wrung  his  neck  in  two  1  His  vizor 
was  full  of  blood." 

"  He  should  have  run  or  yielded,  then,"  said  Amyas ; 
and  getting  up,  slipt  off  to  find  some  ale,  and  then  to 
sleep  comfortably  in  a  dry  burrow  which  he  scratched 
out  of  a  sandbank. 

The  next  morning,  as  Amyas  was  discussing  a 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  307 

scanty  breakfast  of  biscuit  (for  provisions  were  running 
very  short  in  camp)  Raleigh  came  up  to  him. 

"What,  eating?  That's  more  than  I  have  done 
to-day." 

"  Sit  down,  and  share  then." 

"  Nay,  lad,  I  did  not  come  a-begging.  I  have  set 
some  of  my  rogues  to  dig  rabbits ;  but  as  I  live,  young 
Colbrand,  you  may  thank  your  stars  that  you  are  alive 
to-day  to  eat.  Poor  young  Cheek, — Sir  John  Cheek, 
the  grammarian's  son, — got  his  quittance  last  night 
by  a  Spanish  pike,  rushing  headlong  on,  just  as  you 
did.     But  have  you  seen  your  prisoner?" 

"No;  nor  shall,  while  he  is  in  Winter's  tent." 

"  Why  not  then  1  What  quarrel  have  you  against 
the  Admiral,  friend  Bobadil  ?  Cannot  you  let  Francis 
Drake  fight  his  own  battles,  without  thrusting  your 
head  in  between  them?" 

"  Well,  that  is  good !  As  if  the  quarrel  was  not 
just  as  much  mine,  and  every  man's  in  the  ship.  Why, 
when  he  left  Drake,  he  left  us  all,  did  he  not?" 

"  And  what  if  he  did  ?  Let  bygones  be  bygones,  is 
the  rule  of  a  Christian,  and  of  a  wise  man  too,  Amyas. 
Here  the  man  is,  at  least,  safe  home,  in  favour  and  in 
power ;  and  a  prudent  youth  will  just  hold  his  tongue, 
mumchance,  and  swim  with  the  stream." 

"  But  that's  just  what  makes  me  mad ;  to  see  this 
fellow,  after  deserting  us  there  in  unknown  seas,  win 
credit  and  rank  at  home  here  for  being  the  first  man 
who  ever  sailed  back  through  the  Straits.  What  had 
he  to  do  with  sailing  back  at  all  ?  As  well  make  the 
fox  a  knight  for  being  the  first  that  ever  jumped  down 


308  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

a  Jakes  to  escape  the  hounds.  The  fiercer  the  flight 
the  fouler  the  fear,  say  I." 

"  Amyas !  Aniyas !  thou  art  a  hard  hitter,  but  a 
soft  politician." 

"I  am  no  poHtician,  Captain  Ealeigh,  nor  ever 
wish  to  be.  An  honest  man's  my  friend,  and  a  rogue's 
my  foe ;  and  I'll  tell  both  as  much  as  long  as  I  breathe." 

"And  die  a  poor  saint,"  said  Ealeigh,  laughing. 
"  But  if  Winter  invites  you  to  his  tent  himself,  you 
won't  refuse  to  come?" 

*'  Why,  no,  considering  his  years  and  rank ;  but  he 
knows  too  well  to  do  that." 

"He  knows  too  well  not  to  do  it,"  said  Ealeigh, 
laughing  as  he  walked  away.  And  verily  in  half-an- 
hour  came  an  invitation  extracted,  of  course,  from  the 
Admiral  by  Ealeigh's  silver  tongue,  which  Amyas 
could  not  but  obey. 

"We  all  owe  you  thanks  for  last  night's  service, 
sir,"  said  Winter,  who  had  for  some  good  reasons 
changed  his  tone.  "  Your  prisoner  is  found  to  be  a 
gentleman  of  birth  and  experience,  and  the  leader  of 
the  assault  last  night.  He  has  already  told  us  more 
than  we  had  hoped,  for  which  also  we  are  beholden  to 
you ;  and,  indeed,  my  Lord  Grey  has  been  asking  for 
you  already." 

"  I  have,  young  sir,"  said  a  quiet  and  lofty  voice ; 
and  Amyas  saw  limping  from  the  inner  tent  the  proud 
and  stately  figure  of  the  stern  Deputy,  Lord  Grey  of 
Wilton,  a  brave  and  wise  man,  but  with  a  naturally 
harsh  temper,  which  had  been  soured  still  more  by  the 
wound  which  had  crippled  him,  while  yet  a  boy,  at 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  309 

the  battle  of  Leith.  He  owed  that  limp  to  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots ;  and  he  did  not  forget  the  debt. 

"  I  have  been  asking  for  you ;  having  heard  from 
many,  both  of  your  last  night's  prowess,  and  of  your 
conduct  and  courage  beyond  the  promise  of  your 
years,  displayed  in  that  ever- memorable  voyage, 
which  may  well  be  ranked  with  the  deeds  of  the 
ancient  Argonauts." 

Amyas  bowed  low;  and  the  Lord  Deputy  went 
on,  "  You  will  needs  wish  to  see  your  prisoner.  You 
will  find  him  such  a  one  as  you  need  not  be  ashamed 
to  have  taken,  and  as  need  not  be  ashamed  to  have 
been  taken  by  you :  but  here  he  is,  and  will,  I  doubt 
not,  answer  as  much  for  himself.  Know  each  other 
better,  gentlemen  both :  last  night  was  an  ill  one  for 
making  acquaintances.  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena 
Sotomayor  de  Soto,  know  the  hidalgo  Amyas  Leigh  1" 

As  he  spoke,  the  Spaniard  came  forward,  still  in 
his  armour,  all  save  his  head,  which  was  bound  up  in 
a  handkerchief. 

He  was  an  exceedingly  tall  and  graceful  personage, 
of  that  sangre  azul  which  marked  high  Visi-gothic 
descent;  golden-haired  and  fair-skinned,  with  hands 
as  small  and  white  as  a  woman's;  his  lips  were 
delicate,  but  thin,  and  compressed  closely  at  the 
comers  of  the  mouth ;  and  his  pale  blue  eye  had  a 
glassy  dulness.  In  spite  of  his  beauty  and  his  carriage, 
Amyas  shrank  from  him  instinctively;  and  yet  he 
could  not  help  holding  out  his  hand  in  return,  as  the 
Spaniard  holding  out  his,  said  languidly,  in  most 
sweet  and  sonorous  Spanish, — 


310  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

"  I  kiss  his  hands  and  feet.  The  Senor  speaks,  I 
am  told,  my  native  tongue  f 

"I  have  that  honour." 

"  Then  accept  in  it  (for  I  can  better  express  myself 
therein  than  in  English,  though  I  am  not  altogether 
ignorant  of  that  witty  and  learned  language)  the 
expression  of  my  pleasure  at  having  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  one  so  renowned  in  war  and  travel ;  and  of 
one  also,"  he  added,  glancing  at  Amyas's  giant  bulk, 
^'the  vastness  of  whose  strength,  beyond  that  of 
common  mortality,  makes  it  no  more  shame  for  me  to 
have  been  overpowered  and  carried  away  by  him  than 
if  my  captor  had  been  a  paladin  of  Charlemagne's." 

Honest  Amyas  bowed  and  stammered,  a  little 
thrown  off  his  balance  by  the  unexpected  assurance 
and  cool  flattery  of  his  prisoner ;  but  he  said, — 

"  If  you  are  satisfied,  illustrious  Senor,  I  am  bound 
to  be  so.  I  only  trust,  that  in  my  hurry  and  the  dark- 
ness, I  have  not  hurt  you  unnecessarily." 

The  Don  laughed  a  pretty  little  hollow  laugh : 
"No,  kind  Senor,  my  head,  I  trust,  will  after  a  few 
days  have  become  united  to  my  shoulders;  and,  for 
the  present,  your  company  will  make  me  forget  any 
slight  discomfort." 

"  Pardon  me,  Seilor ;  but  by  this  daylight  I  should 
have  seen  that  armour  before." 

"I  doubt  it  not,  Seiior,  as  having  been  yourself 
also  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,"  said  the  Spaniard, 
with  a  proud  smile. 

"If  I  am  right,  Senor,  you  are  he  who  yesterday 
held  up  the  standard  after  it  was  shot  down." 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  311 

"I  do  not  deny  that  undeserved  honour;  and  I 
have  to  thank  the  courtesy  of  you  and  your  country- 
men for  having  permitted  me  to  do  so  with  im- 
punity." 

"Ah,  I  heard  of  that  brave  feat,"  said  the  Lord 
Deputy.  "  You  should  consider  yourself,  Mr.  Leigh, 
honoured  by  being  enabled  to  show  courtesy  to  such 
a  warrior." 

How  long  this  interchange  of  solemn  comphments, 
of  which  Amyas  was  getting  somewhat  weary,  would 
have  gone  on,  I  know  not:  but  at  that  moment 
Ealeigh  entered  hastily, — 

"  My  Lord,  they  have  hung  out  a  white  flag,  and 
are  calling  for  a  parley  ! " 

The  Spaniard  turned  pale,  and  felt  for  his  sword, 
which  was  gone ;  and  then,  with  a  bitter  laugh,  mur- 
mured to  himself,— -"  As  I  expected." 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  it.  Would  to  Heaven 
they  had  simply  fought  it  out ! "  said  Lord  Grey,  half 
to  himself;  and  then,  "Go,  Captain  Raleigh,  and 
answer  them  that  (saving  this  gentleman's  presence) 
the  laws  of  war  forbid  a  parley  with  any  who  are 
leagued  with  rebels  against  their  lawful  sovereign." 

"But  what  if  they  wish  to  treat  for  this  gentle- 
man's ransom?" 

"For  their  own,  more  likely:"  said  the  Spaniard; 
"  but  tell  them,  on  my  part,  Senor,  that  Don  Guzman 
refuses  to  be  ransomed ;  and  will  return  to  no  camp 
where  the  commanding  officer,  unable  to  infect  his 
captains  with  his  own  cowardice,  dishonours  them 
against  their  will." 


312  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

"You  speak  sharply,  Seiior,"  said  Winter,  after 
Raleigh  had  gone  out. 

"  I  have  reason,  Seiior  Admiral,  as  you  will  find, 
I  fear,  ere  long." 

"  We  shall  have  the  honour  of  leaving  you  here, 
for  the  present,  sir,  as  Admiral  Winter's  guest,"  said 
the  Lord  Deputy. 

"But  not  my  sword,  it  seems." 

"  Pardon  me,  Senor ;  but  no  one  has  deprived  you 
of  your  sword,"  said  Winter. 

"I  don't  wish  to  pain  you,  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "but 
I  fear  that  we  were  both  careless  enough  to  leave  it 
behind  last  night." 

A  flash  passed  over  the  Spaniard's  face,  which  dis- 
closed terrible  depths  of  fury  and  hatred  beneath  that 
quiet  mask,  as  the  summer  lightning  displays  the 
black  abysses  of  the  thunderstorm ;  but  like  the  sum- 
mer hghtning  it  passed,  almost  unseen ;  and  blandly 
as  ever,  he  answered, — 

"  I  can  forgive  you  for  such  a  neglect,  most  valiant 
sir,  more  easily  than  I  can  forgive  myself.  Farewell, 
sir !  One  who  has  lost  his  sword  is  no  fit  company 
for  you."  And  as  Amyas  and  the  rest  departed  he 
plunged  into  the  inner  tent,  stamping  and  writhing, 
gnawing  his  hands  with  rage  and  shame. 

As  Amyas  came  out  on  the  battery,  Yeo  hailed 
him, — 

"  Master  Amyas !  Hillo,  sir !  For  the  love  of 
Heaven  tell  me  ! " 

"What  then?" 

"  Is  his  Lordship  staunch  1    Will  he  do  the  Lord's 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  313 

work  faithfully,  root  and  branch  :  or  will  he  spare  the 
Amalekitesf 

"The  latter,  I  think,  old  hip -and -thigh,"  said 
^Amyas,  hurrying  forward  to  hear  the  news  from 
Ealeigh,  who  appeared  in  sight  once  more. 

"They  ask  to  depart  with  bag  and  baggage,"  said 
he,  when  he  came  up. 

"God  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  they  carry 
away  a  straw !"  said  Lord  Grey.  "Make  short  work 
of  it,  sir!" 

"  I  do  not  know  how  that  will  be,  my  Lord ;  as  I 
came  up  a  captain  shouted  to  me  off  the  walls  that  there 
were  mutineers;  and,  denying  that  he  surrendered, 
would  have  pulled  down  the  flag  of  truce,  but  the 
soldiers  beat  him  off." 

"  A  house  divided  against  itself  will  not  stand  long, 
gentlemen.  Tell  them  that  I  give  no  conditions.  Let 
them  lay  down  their  arms,  and  trust  in  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  who  sent  them  hither,  and  may  come  to  save 
them  if  he  wants  them.  Gunners,  if  you  see  the  white 
flag  go  down,  open  your  fire  instantly.  Captain 
Raleigh,  we  need  your  counsel  here.  Mr.  Gary,  will 
you  be  my  herald  this  timef 

"  A  better  Protestant  never  went  on  a  pleasantcr 
errand,  my  Lord." 

So  Gary  went,  and  then  ensued  an  argument,  as 
to  what  should  be  done  with  the  prisoners  in  case  of 
a  surrender. 

I  cannot  tell  whether  my  Lord  Grey  meant,  by 
offering  conditions  which  the  Spaniards  would  not 
accept,  to  force  them  into  fighting  the  quarrel  out,  and 


314  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

so  save  himself  the  responsibility  of  deciding  on  their 
fate ;  or  whether  his  mere  natural  stubbornness,  as  well 
as  his  just  indignation,  drove  him  on  too  far  to  retract : 
but  the  council  of  war  which  followed  was  both  a  sad 
and  a  stormy  one,  and  one  which  he  had  reason  to 
regret  to  his  dying  day.  What  was  to  be  done  with 
the  enemy  *?  They  already  outnumbered  the  English ; 
and  some  fifteen  hundred  of  Desmond's  wild  Irish 
hovered  in  the  forests  round,  ready  to  side  with  the 
winning  party,  or  even  to  attack  the  English  at  the 
least  sign  of  vacillation  or  fear.  They  could  not  carry 
the  Spaniards  away  with  them,  for  they  had  neither 
shipping  nor  food,  not  even  handcuffs  enough  for 
them ;  and  as  Mackworth  told  Winter  when  he  pro- 
posed it,  the  only  plan  was  for  him  to  make  San 
Josepho  a  present  of  his  ships,  and  swim  home  him- 
self as  he  could.  To  turn  loose  in  Ireland,  as  Captain 
Touch  urged,  on  the  other  hand,  seven  hundred  such 
monsters  of  lawlessness,  cruelty,  and  lust,  as  Spanish 
and  Italian  condottieri  were  in  those  days,  was  as  fatal 
to  their  own  safety  as  cruel  to  the  wretched  Irish. 
All  the  captains,  without  exception,  followed  on  the 
same  side.  "What  was  to  be  done,  thenf  asked 
Lord  Grey,  impatiently.  "  Would  they  have  him 
murder  them  all  in  cold  blood?" 

And  for  a  while  every  man,  knowing  that  it  must 
come  to  that,  and  yet  not  daring  to  say  it ;  till  Sir 
Warham  St.  Leger,  the  Marshal  of  Munster,  spoke  out 
stoutly — "  Foreigners  had  been  scoffing  them  too  long 
and  too  truly  with  waging  these  Irish  wars  as  if  they 
meant  to  keep  them  alive,   rather  than  end  them. 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  315 

Mercy  and  faith  to  every  Irisshman  who  would  show 
mercy  and  faith,  was  his  motto ;  but  to  invaders,  no 
mercy.  Ireland  was  England's  vulnerable  point;  it 
might  be  some  day  her  ruin ;  a  terrible  example  must 
be  made  of  those  who  dare  to  touch  the  sore.  Rather 
pardon  the  Spaniards  for  landing  in  the  Thames  than 
in  Ireland!" — till  Lord  Grey  became  much  excited, 
and  turning  as  a  last  hope  to  Raleigh,  asked  his 
opinion  :  but  Raleigh's  silver  tongue  was  that  day  not 
on  the  side  of  indulgence.  He  skilfully  recapitulated 
the  arguments  of  his  fellow-captains,  improving  them 
as  he  went  on,  till  each  worthy  soldier  was  surprised 
to  find  himself  so  much'  wiser  a  man  than  he  had 
thought ;  and  finished  by  one  of  his  rapid  and  pas- 
sionate perorations  upon  his  favourite  theme — the 
West  Indian  cruelties  of  the  Spaniards,  ".  .  .  .  by 
which  great  tracts  and  fair  countries  are  now  utterly 
stripped  of  inhabitants  by  heavy  bondage  and  torments- 
unspeakable.  Oh,  witless  Islanders!"  said  he,  apos- 
trophising the  Irish ;  "  would  to  heaven  that  you  were 
here  to  listen  to  me  !  What  other  fate  awaits  you,  if 
this  viper,  which  you  are  so  ready  to  take  into  your 
bosom,  should  be  warmed  to  life,  but  to  groan  like  the 
Indians,  slaves  to  the  Spaniard ;  but  to  perish  like  the 
Indians,  by  heavy  burdens,  cruel  chains,  plunder  and 
ravishment;  scourged,  racked,  roasted,  stabbed,  sawn 
in  sunder,  cast  to  feed  the  dogs,  as  simple  and  more 
righteous  peoples  have  perished  ere  now  by  millions  1 
And  what  else,  I  say,  had  been  the  fate  of  Ireland, 
had  this  invasion  prospered,  which  God  has  now,  by 
our  weak  hands,  confounded  and  brought  to  nought  1 


316  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

Shall  we  then  answer  it,  my  Lord,  either  to  our  con- 
science, our  God,  or  our  Queen,  if  we  shall  set  loose 
men  (not  one  of  whom,  I  warrant,  but  is  stained  with 
murder  on  murder)  to  go  and  fill  up  the  cup  of  their 
iniquity  among  these  silly  sheep?  Have  not  their 
native  wolves,  their  barbarous  chieftains,  shorn,  peeled, 
and  slaughtered  them  enough  already,  but  we  must 
add  this  pack  of  foreign  wolves  to  the  number  of  their 
tormentors,  and  fit  the  Desmond  with  a  bodyguard  of 
seven,  yea,  seven  hundred  devils  worse  than  himself  1 
Nay,  rather  let  us  do  violence  to  our  own  human 
nature,  and  show  ourselves  in  appearance  rigorous,  that 
we  may  be  kind  indeed ;  lest  while  we  presume  to  be 
over-merciful  to  the  guilty,  we  prove  ourselves  to  be 
over-cruel  to  the  innocent." 

"Captain  Kaleigh,  Captain  Raleigh,"  said  Lord 
Grey,  "  the  blood  of  these  men  be  on  your  head  ! " 

"It  ill  befits  your  Lordship,"  answered  Ealeigh, 
"to  throw  on  your  subordinates  the  blame  of  that 
which  your  reason  approves  as  necessary." 

"  I  should  have  thought,  sir,  that  one  so  noted  for 
ambition  as  Captain  Raleigh  would  have  been  more 
careful  of  the  favour  of  that  Queen  for  whose  smiles 
he  is  said  to  be  so  longing  a  competitor.  If  you  have 
not  yet  been  of  her  counsels,  sir,  I  can  tell  you  you 
are  not  likely  to  be.  She  will  be  furious  when  she 
hears  of  this  cruelty." 

Lord  Grey  had  lost  his  temper :  but  Raleigh  kept 
his,  and  answered  quietly — 

"  Her  Majesty  shall  at  least  not  find  me  among  the 
number  of  those  who  prefer  her  favour  to  her  safety, 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  317 

and  abuse  to  their  own  profit  that  over-tenderness  and 
mercifulness  of  heart  which  is  the  only  blemish  (and 
yet  rather,  like  a  mole  on  a  fair  cheek,  but  a  new 
beauty)  in  her  manifold  perfections." 

At  this  juncture  Gary  returned. 

"  My  Lord,"  said  he,  in  some  confusion,  "  I  have 
proposed  your  terms;  but  the  captains  still  entreat 
for  some  mitigation;  and,  to  tell  you  truth,  one  of 
them  has  insisted  on  accompanying  me  hither  to  plead 
his  cause  himself." 

"I  will  not  see  him,  sir.     Who  is  he ?" 

"His  name  is  Sebastian  of  Modena,  my  Lord." 

"  Sebastian  of  Modena  ?  What  think  you,  gentle- 
men? May  we  make  an  exception  in  favour  of  so 
famous  a  soldier?" 

"  So  villanous  a  cut-throat,"  said  Zouch  to  Raleigh, 
under  his  breath. 

All,  however,  were  for  speaking  with  so  famous  a 
man ;  and  in  came,  in  full  armour,  a  short,  bull-necked 
Italian,  evidently  of  immense  strength,  of  the  true 
Caesar  Borgia  stamp. 

"Will  you  please  to  be  seated,  sir  ?"  said  Lord  Grey, 
coldly. 

"  I  kiss  your  hands,  most  illustrious :  but  I  do  not 
sit  in  an  enemy's  camp.  Ha,  my  friend  Zouch ! 
How  has  your  Signoria  fared  since  we  fought  side  by 
side  at  Lepanto?  So  you,  too,  are  here,  sitting  in 
council  on  the  hanging  of  me." 

"What  is  your  errand,  sir?  Time  is  short,"  said 
the  Lord  Deputy. 

"Corpo  di  Bacco!     It  has  been  long  enough  all 


318  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

the  morning,  for  my  rascals  have  kept  me  and  my 
friend  the  Colonel  Hercules  (whom  you  know,  doubt- 
less) prisoners  in  our  tents  at  the  pike's  point.  My 
Lord  Deputy,  I  have  but  a  few  words.  I  shall  thank 
you  to  take  every  soldier  in  the  fort, — Italian,  Spaniard, 
and  Irish, — and  hang  them  up  as  high  as  Haman,  for 
a  set  of  mutinous  cowards,  with  the  arch-traitor  San 
Josepho  at  their  head." 

"  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  your  offer,  sir,  and  shall 
deliberate  presently  as  to  whether  I  shall  not  accept 
it." 

"But  as  for  us  captains,  really  your  Excellency 
must  consider  that  we  are  gentlemen  born,  and  give 
us  either  buena  querra,  as  the  Spaniards  say,  or  a  fair 
chance  for  life ;  and  so  to  my  business." 

"  Stay,  sir.  Answer  this  first.  Have  you  or  yours 
any  commission  to  show  either  from  the  King  of  Spain 
or  any  other  potentate  f 

"  Never  a  one  but  the  cause  of  Heaven  and  our 
own  swords.  And  with  them,  my  Lord,  we  are  ready 
to  meet  any  gentlemen  of  your  camp,  man  to  man, 
with  our  swords  only,  half-way  between  your  leaguer 
and  ours ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  your  Lordship  will 
see  fair  play.  Will  any  gentleman  accept  so  civil  an 
offer?  There  sits  a  tall  youth  in  that  corner  who 
would  suit  me  very  well.  Will  any  fit  my  gallant 
comrades  with  half-an-hour's  punto  and  stoccado?" 

There  was  a  silence,  all  looking  at  the  Lord 
Deputy,  whose  eyes  were  kindling  in  a  very  ugly  way. 

"No  answer?  Then  I  must  proceed  to  exhorta- 
tion.    So  !     Will  that  be  sufficient  ?" 


HIS  CHKIST^IAS  DAY.  319 

And  walking  composedly  across  the  tent,  the  fear- 
less ruffian  quietly  stooped  down,  and  smote  Amyas 
Leigh  full  in  the  face. 

Up  sprang  Amyas,  heedless  of  all  the  august 
assembly,  and  with  a  single  buffet  felled  him  to  the 
earth. 

"Excellent!"  said  he,  rising  unabashed.  "I  can 
always  trust  my  instinct.  I  knew  the  moment  I  saw 
him  that  he  was  a  cavalier  worth  letting  blood.  Now, 
sir,  your  sword  and  harness,  and  I  am  at  your  service 
outside ! " 

The  solemn  and  sententious  Englishmen  were  alto- 
gether taken  aback  by  the  Italian's  impudence ;  but 
Zouch  settled  the  matter. 

"Most  noble  Captain,  will  you  be  pleased  to  re- 
collect a  certain  little  occurrence  at  Messina,  in  the 
year  1575?  For  if  you  do  not,  I  do;  and  beg  to 
inform  this  gentleman  that  you  are  unworthy  of  his 
sword,  and  had  you,  unluckily  for  you,  been  an 
Englishman,  would  have  found  the  fashions  of  our 
country  so  different  from  your  own  that  you  would 
have  been  then  hanged,  sir,  and  probably  may  be  so 
still." 

The  Italian's  sword  flashed  out  in  a  moment :  but 
Lord  Grey  interfered. 

"No  fighting  here,  gentlemen.  That  may  wait; 
and,  what  is  more,  shall  wait  till — Strike  their  swords 
down,  Ealeigh,  Mackworth !  Strike  their  swords 
down!  Colonel  Sebastian,  you  will  be  pleased  to 
return  as  you  came,  in  safety,  having  lost  nothing,  as 
(I  frankly  tell  you)  you  have  gained  nothing,  by  your 


320  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

wild  bearing  here.  We  shall  proceed  to  deliberate  on 
your  fate." 

"I  trust,  my  Lord,"  said  Amyas,  "that  you  will 
spare  this  braggart's  life,  at  least  for  a  day  or  two. 
For  in  spite  of  Captain  Zouch's  warning,  I  must  have 
to  do  with  him  yet,  or  my  cheek  will  rise  up  in  judg- 
ment against  me  at  the  last  day." 

"Well  spoken,  lad,"  said  the  Colonel  as  he  swung 
out.  "  So  !  worth  a  reprieve,  by  this  sword,  to  have 
one  more  rapier-rattle  before  the  gallows!  Then  I 
take  back  no  further  answer,  my  Lord  Deputy  1  Not 
even  our  swords,  our  virgin  blades,  Signor,  the  soldier's 
cherished  bride  1  Shall  we  go  forth  weeping  widowers, 
and  leave  to  strange  embrace  the  lovely  steel  f 

"None,  sir,  by  heaven!"  said  he,  waxing  wroth. 
"  Do  you  come  hither,  pirates  as  you  are,  to  dictate 
terms  upon  a  foreign  soil  1  Is  it  not  enough  to  have 
set  up  here  the  Spanish  flag,  and  claimed  the  land  of 
Ireland  as  the  Pope's  gift  to  the  Spaniard ;  violated 
the  laws  of  nations,  and  the  solemn  treaties  of  princes, 
under  colour  of  a  mad  superstition  f 

"Superstition,  my  Lord^  Nothing  less.  Believe 
a  philosopher  who  has  not  said  a  pater  or  an  ave  for 
seven  years  past  at  least.  Quod  tango  credo,  is  my 
motto ;  and  though  I  am  bound  to  say,  under  pain  of 
the  Inquisition,  that  the  most  holy  Father  the  Pope 
has  given  this  land  of  Ireland  to  his  most  Catholic 
Majesty  the  King  of  Spain,  Queen  Elizabeth  having 
forfeited  her  title  to  it  by  heresy, — why,  my  Lord,  I 
believe  it  as  little  as  you  do.  I  believe  that  Ireland 
would  have  been  mine,  if  I  had  won  it ;  I  believe  re- 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  321 

ligiously  that  it  is  not  mine,  now  I  have  lost  it. 
What  is,  is,  and  a  fig  for  priests;  to-clay  to  thee, 
to-morrow  to  me.     Addio," — and  out  he  swung. 

"There  goes  a  most  gallant  rascal,"  said  the  Lord 
Deputy. 

"And  a  most  rascally  gallant,"  said  Zouch.  "The 
murder  of  his  own  page,  of  which  I  gave  him  a  re- 
membrancer, is  among  the  least  of  his  sins." 

"And  now,  Captain  Raleigh,"  said  Lord  Grey, "as 
you  have  been  so  earnest  in  preaching  this  butchery, 
I  have  a  right  to  ask  none  but  you  to  practise  it" 

Raleigh  bit  his  lip,  and  repHed  by  the  "  quip  cour- 
teous,"— 

"I  am  at  least  a  man,  my  Lord,  who  thinks  it 
shame  to  allow  others  to  do  that  which  I  dare  not  do 
myseK." 

Lord  Grey  might  probably  have  returned  "the 
countercheck  quarrelsome,"  had  not  Mackworth 
risen ; — 

"  And  I,  my  Lord,  being,  in  that  matter  at  least, 
one  of  Captain  Raleigh's  kidney,  will  just  go  with  him 
to  see  that  he  takes  no  harm  by  being  bold  enough  to 
carry  out  an  ugly  business,  and  serving  these  rascals 
as  their  countrymen  served  Mr.  Oxenham." 

"  I  bid  you  good  morning,  then,  gentlemen,  though 
I  cannot  bid  you  God  speed,"  said  Lord  Grey ;  and 
sitting  down  again,  covered  his  face  with  his  hands, 
and,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  bystanders,  burst,  say 
the  chroniclers,  into  tears. 

Amyas  followed  Raleigh  out.  The  latter  was  pale, 
but  determined,  and  very  wroth  against  the  Deputy. 

VOL.  I.  Y  w.  H. 


322  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

"  Does  the  man  take  me  for  a  hangman  'i "  said  he, 
"  that  he  speaks  to  me  thus  1  But  such  is  the  way  of 
the  great.  If  you  neglect  your  duty,  they  haul  you 
over  the  coals ;  if  you  do  it,  you  must  do  it  on  your 
own  responsibility.  Farewell,  Amyas,  you  will  not 
shrink  from  me  as  a  butcher  when  I  return  V' 
"  God  forbid  1  But  how  will  you  do  it  T 
"  March  one  company  in,  and  drive  them  forth,  and 
let  the  other  cut  them  down  as  they  come  out. — Pah  !" 

It  was  done.  Right  or  wrong,  it  was  done.  The 
shrieks  and  curses  had  died  away,  and  the  Fort  del 
Oro  was  a  red  shambles,  which  the  soldiers  were  trying 
to  cover  from  the  sight  of  heaven  and  earth,  by  drag- 
ging the  bodies  into  the  ditch,  and  covering  them  with 
the  ruins  of  the  rampart ;  while  the  Irish,  who  had 
beheld  from  the  woods  that  awful  warning,  fled 
trembling  into  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  forest.  It 
was  done ;  and  it  never  needed  to  be  done  again. 
The  hint  was  severe,  but  it  was  sufficient.  Many 
years  passed  before  a  Spaniard  set  foot  again  in 
Ireland. 

The  Spanish  and  Italian  officers  were  spared,  and 
Amyas  had  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor 
de  Soto  duly  adjudged  to  him,  as  his  prize  by  right  of 
war.  He  was,  of  course,  ready  enough  to  fight  Sebas- 
tian of  Modena :  but  Lord  Grey  forbade  the  duel : 
blood  enough  had  been  shed  already.  The  next  ques- 
tion was,  where  to  bestow  Don  Guzman  till  his  ransom 
should  arrive ;  and  as  Amyas  could  not  well  deliver 
the  gallant  Don  into  the  safe  custody  of  Mrs.  Leigh  at 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  323 

Burrough,  and  still  less  into  that  of  Frank  at  Court, 
he  was  fain  to  write  to  Sir  Eichard  Grenvile,  and  ask 
his  advice,  and  in  the  meanwhile  keep  the  Spaniard 
with  him  upon  parole,  which  he  frankly  gave, — saying 
that  as  for  running  away,  he  had  nowhere  to  run  to ; 
and  as  for  joining  the  Irish  he  had  no  mind  to  turn 
pig ;  and  Amyas  found  him,  as  shall  be  hereafter  told, 
pleasant  company  enough.  But  one  morning  Ealeigh 
entered, — 

"  I  have  done  you  a  good  turn,  Leigh,  if  you  think 
it  one.  I  have  talked  St.  Leger  into  making  you  my 
lieutenant,  and  giving  you  the  custody  of  a  right 
pleasant  hermitage — some  castle  Shackatory  or  other 
in  the  midst  of  a  big  bog,  where  time  will  run  swift 
and  smooth  with  you,  between  hunting  wild  Irish, 
snaring  snipes,  and  drinking  yourself  drunk  with 
usquebaugh  over  a  turf  fire." 

"I'll  go,"  quoth  Amyas;  "anything  for  work."  So 
he  went  and  took  possession  of  his  lieutenancy  and  his 
black  robber  tower,  and  there  passed  the  rest  of  the 
winter,  fighting  or  hunting  all  day,  and  chatting  and 
reading  all  the  evening  with  Senor  Don  Guzman,  who, 
like  a  good  soldier  of  fortune,  made  himself  thoroughly 
at  home,  and  a  general  favourite  with  the  soldiers. 

At  first,  indeed,  his  Spanish  pride  and  stateliness, 
and  Amyas's  English  taciturnity,  kept  the  two  apart 
somewhat ;  but  they  soon  began,  if  not  to  trust  at  least 
to  like  each  other ;  and  Don  Guzman  told  Amyas,  bit 
by  bit,  who  he  was,  of  what  an  ancient  house,  and  of 
what  a  poor  one ,  and  laughed  over  the  very  small 
chance  of  his  ransom  being  raised,  and  the  certainty 


324  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

that,  at  least,  it  could  not  come  for  a  couple  of  years, 
seeing  that  the  only  De  Soto  who  had  a  penny  to 
spare  was  a  fat  old  dean  at  St.  Yago  de  Leon,  in  the 
Caraccas,  at  which  place  Don  Guzman  had  been  born. 
This  of  course  led  to  much  talk  about  the  West  Indies, 
and  the  Don  was  as  much  interested  to  find  that 
Amyas  had  been  one  of  Drake's  world-famous  crew,  as 
Amyas  was  to  find  that  his  captive  was  the  grandson 
of  none  other  than  that  most  terrible  of  man-hunters, 
Don  Ferdinando  de  Soto,  the  conqueror  of  Florida, 
of  whom  Amyas  had  read  many  a  time  in  Las  Casas, 
"  as  the  captain  of  tyrants,  the  notoriousest  and  most 
experimented  amongst  them  that  have  done  the  most 
hurts,  mischiefs,  and  destructions  in  many  realms." 
And  often  enough  his  blood  boiled,  and  he  had  much 
ado  to  recollect  that  the  speaker  was  his  guest,  as  Don 
Guzman  chatted  away  about  his  grandfather's  hunts 
of  innocent  women  and  children,  murders  of  caciques, 
and  burnings  alive  of  guides,  ^^pour  encourager  les 
autres"  without,  seemingly,  the  least  feeling  that  the 
victims  were  human  beings  or  subjects  for  human 
pity;  anything,  in  short,  but  heathen  dogs,  enemies 
of  God,  servants  of  the  devil,  to  be  used  by  the  Chris- 
tian when  he  needed,  and  when  not  needed  killed 
down  as  cumberers  of  the  ground.  But  Don  Guzman 
was  a  most  finished  gentleman  nevertheless ;  and  told 
many  a  good  story  of  the  Indies,  and  told  it  well ;  and 
over  and  above  his  stories,  he  had  among  his  baggage 
two  books, — the  one  Antonio  Galvano's  "  Discoveries 
of  the  World,"  a. mine  of  winter  evening  amusement 
to  Amyas ;  and  the  other,  a  manuscript  book,  which, 


i 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  325 

perhaps,  it  had  been  well  for  Amyas  had  he  never 
seen.  For  it  was  none  other  than  a  sort  of  rough 
journal  which  Don  Guzman  had  kept  as  a  lad,  when 
he  went  down  with  the  Adelantado  Gonzales  Ximenes 
de  Casada,  from  Peru  to  the  River  of  Amazons,  to 
look  for  the  golden  country  of  El  Dorado,  and  the 
city  of  Manoa,  which  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  White 
Lake,  and  equals  or  surpasses  in  glory  even  the  palace 
of  the  Inca  Huaynacapac ;  "all  the  vessels  of  whose 
house  and  kitchen  are  of  gold  and  silver,  and  in  his 
wardrobe  statues  of  gold  which  seemed  giants,  and 
figures  in  proportion  and  bigness  of  all  the  beasts, 
birds,  trees,  and  herbs  of  the  earth,  and  the  fishes  of 
the  water ;  and  ropes,  budgets,  chests,  and  troughs  of 
gold ;  yea,  and  a  garden  of  pleasure  in  an  Island  near 
Puna,  where  they  went  to  recreate  themselves  when 
they  would  take  the  air  of  the  sea,  which  had  all  kind 
of  garden  herbs,  flowers,  and  trees  of  gold  and  silver 
of  an  invention  and  magnificence  till  then  never  seen." 
Now  the  greater  part  of  this  treasure  (and  be  it 
remembered  that  these  wonders  were  hardly  exagger- 
ated, and  that  there  were  many  men  alive  then  who 
had  beheld  them,  as  they  had  worse  things,  "with 
their  corporal  and  mortal  eyes  ")  was  hidden  by  the 
Indians  when  Pizarro  conquered  Peru  and  slew 
Atahuallpa,  son  of  Huaynacapac;  at  whose  death,  it 
was  said,  one  of  the  Inca's  younger  brothers  fled  out 
of  Peru,  and  taking  with  him  a  great  anny,  vanquished 
all  that  tract  which  lieth  between  the  great  Rivers  of 
Amazons  and  Baraquan,  otherwise  called  Maranon 
and  Orenoque. 


326  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

There  he  sits  to  this  day,  beside  the  golden  lake, 
in  the  golden  city  which  is  in  breadth  a  three  days' 
journey,  covered,  he  and  his  court,  with  gold  dust 
from  head  to  foot,  waiting  for  the  fulfilment  of  the 
ancient  prophecy  which  was  written  in  the  temple  of 
Caxamarca,  where  his  ancestors  worshipped  of  old; 
that  heroes  shall  come  out  of  the  West,  and  lead  him 
back  across  the  forests  to  the  kingdom  of  Peru,  and 
restore  him  to  the  glory  of  his  forefathers. 

Golden  phantom !  so  possible,  so  probable,  to  im- 
aginations which  were  yet  reeling  before  the  actual 
and  veritable  prodigies  of  Peru,  Mexico,  and  the  East 
Indies.  Golden  phantom !  which  has  cost  already 
the  Hves  of  thousands,  and  shall  yet  cost  more ;  from 
Diego  de  Ordas,  and  Juan  Corteso,  and  many  another, 
who  went  forth  on  the  quest  by  the  Andes,  and  by 
the  Orinoco,  and  by  the  Amazons ;  Antonio  Sedenno, 
with  his  ghastly  caravan  of  manacled  Indians,  "on 
whose  dead  carcasses  the  tigers  being  fleshed,  assaulted 
the  Spaniards;"  Augustine  Delgado,  who  "came  to  a 
cacique,  who  entertained  him  with  all  kindness,  and 
gave  him  beside  much  gold  and  slaves,  three  nymphs 
very  beautiful,  which  bare  the  names  of  three  pro- 
vinces, Guanba,  Gotoguane,  and  Maiarare.  To  requite 
which  manifold  courtesies,  he  carried  off,  not  only  all 
the  gold,  but  all  the  Indians  he  could  seize,  and  took 
them  in  irons  to  Cubagua,  and  sold  them  for  slaves ; 
after  which,  Delgado  was  shot  in  the  eye  by  an 
Indian,  of  which  hurt  he  died  ;"  Pedro  d'Orsua,  who 
found  the  cinnamon  forests  of  Loxas,  "whom  his  men 
murdered,  and  afterwards  beheaded  Lady  Anes  his 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  327 

wife,  who  forsook  not  her  lord  in  all  his  travels  unto 
death,"  and  many  another,  who  has  vanished  with 
valiant  comrades  at  his  back  into  the  green  gulfs  of 
the  primaeval  forests,  never  to  emerge  again.  Golden 
phantom  !  man-devouring,  whose  maw  is  never  satiate 
with  souls  of  heroes ;  fatal  to  Spain ,  more  fatal  still 
to  England  upon  that  shameful  day,  when  the  last  of 
Elizabeth's  heroes  shall  lay  down  his  head  upon  the 
block,  nominally  for  having  believed  what  all  around 
him  believed  likewise  till  they  found  it  expedient  to 
deny  it  in  order  to  curry  favour  with  the  crowned  cur 
who  betrayed  him,  really  because  he  alone  dared  to 
make  one  last  protest  in  behalf  of  liberty  and  Protest- 
antism against  the  incoming  night  of  tyranny  and 
superstition.  Little  thought  Amyas,  as  he  devoured 
the  pages  of  that  manuscript,  that  he  was  laying  a 
snare  for  the  life  of  the  man  whom,  next  to  Drake 
and  Grenvile,  he  most  admired  on  earth. 

But  Don  Guzman,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to 
have  an  instinct  that  that  book  might  be  a  fatal  gift 
to  his  captor;  for  one  day,  ere  Amyas  had  looked 
into  it,  he  began  questioning  the  Don  about  El 
Dorado.  Whereon  Don  Guzman  replied  with  one  of 
those  smiles  of  his,  which  (as  Amyas  said  afterwards) 
was  so  abominably  like  a  sneer,  that  he  had  often 
hard  work  to  keep  his  hands  off  the  man — 

"  Ah !  You  have  been  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  Senor  1  Well ;  if  you  have  any 
ambition  to  follow  many  another  brave  captain  to  the 
pit,  I  know  no  shorter  or  easier  path  than  is  contained 
in  that  little  book  " 


328  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

"I  have  never  opened  your  book,"  said  Amyas; 
"  your  private  manuscripts  are  no  concern  of  mine : 
but  my  man  who  recovered  your  baggage  read  part  of 
it,  knowing  no  better ;  and  now  you  are  at  liberty  to 
tell  me  as  little  as  you  like." 

The  "man,"  it  should  be  said,  was  none  other  than 
Salvation  Yeo,  who  had  attached  himself  by  this  time 
inseparably  to  Amyas,  in  quality  of  body-guard ;  and, 
as  was  common  enough  in  those  days,  had  turned 
soldier  for  the  nonce,  and  taken  under  his  patronage 
two  or  three  rusty  bases  (swivels)  and  falconets  (four- 
pounders),  which  grinned  harmlessly  enough  from  the 
tower  top  across  the  cheerful  expanse  of  bog. 

Amyas  once  asked  him,  how  he  reconciled  this 
Irish  sojourn  with  his  vow  to  find  his  little  maidl 
Yeo  shook  his  head. 

"  I  can't  tell,  sir  ,  but  there's  something  that  makes 
me  always  to  think  of  you  when  I  think  of  her ;  and 
that's  often  enough,  the  Lord  knows.  Whether  it  is 
that  I  ben't  to  find  the  dear  withour  your  help ;  or 
whether  it  is  your  pleasant  face  puts  me  in  mind  of 
hers;  or  what,  I  can't  tell;  but  don't  you  part  me 
from  you,  sir,  for  I'm  like  Euth,  and  where  you 
lodge  I  lodge ;  and  where  you  go  I  go ;  and  where 
you  die — though  I  shall  die  many  a  year  first — there 
I'll  die,  I  hope  and  trust ;  for  I  can't  abear  you  out  of 
my  sight ;  and  that's  the  truth  thereof." 

So  Yeo  remained  with  Amyas,  while  Gary  went 
elsewhere  with  Sir  Warham  St.  Leger,  and  the  two 
friends  met  seldom  for  many  months ;  so  that  Amyas's 
only  companion  was  Don  Guzman,  who,  as  he  grew 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  329 

more  familiar,  and  more  careless  about  what  he  said 
and  did  in  his  captor's  presence,  often  puzzled  and 
scandalised  him  by  his  waywardness.  Fits  of  deep 
melancholy  alternated  with  bursts  of  Spanish  boast- 
fulness,  utterly  astonishing  to  the  modest  and  sober- 
minded  Englishman,  who  would  often  have  fancied 
him  inspired  by  usquebaugh,  had  he  not  had  ocular 
proof  of  his  extreme  abstemiousness. 

"  Miserable  f  said  he,  one  night  in  one  of  these 
fits.  "And  have  I  not  a  right  to  be  miserable^ — Why 
should  I  not  curse  the  virgin  and  all  the  saints,  and 
die  'i  I  have  not  a  friend,  not  a  ducat  on  earth ;  not 
even  a  sword — hell  and  the  furies  !  It  was  my  all : 
the  only  bequest  I  ever  had  from  my  father,  and  I  lived 
by  it  and  earned  by  it.  Two  years  ago  I  had  as  pretty 
a  sum  of  gold  as  cavalier  could  wish — and  now  !" — 

"  What  is  become  of  it,  then  1  I  cannot  hear  that 
our  men  plundered  you  of  any." 

"  Your  men  1  No,  Senor  !  What  fifty  men  dared 
not  have  done,  one  woman  did !  a  painted,  patched, 
fucused,  periwigged,  bolstered,  Charybdis,  cannibal, 
Megaera,  Lamia  !  Why  did  I  ever  go  near  that  cursed 
Naples,  the  common  sewer  of  Europe  1  whose  women, 
I  believe,  would  be  swallowed  up  by  Vesuvius  to- 
morrow, if  it  were  not  that  Belphegor  is  afraid  of 
their  making  the  pit  itself  too  hot  to  hold  him.  Well, 
sir,  she  had  all  of  mine  and  more ,  and  when  all  was 
gone  in  wine  and  dice,  woodcocks'  brains  and  ortolans' 
tongues,  I  met  the  witch  walking  with  another  man. 
I  had  a  sword  and  a  dagger,  I  gave  him  the  first 
(though  the  dog  fought  well  enough,  to  give  him  his 


330  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

due),  and  her  the  second ;  left  them  lying  across  each 
other,  and  fled  for  my  life  : — and  here  I  am !  after 
twenty  years  of  fighting,  from  the  Levant  to  the 
Orellana — for  I  began  ere  I  had  a  hair  on  my  chin — 
and  this  is  the  end  ! — No,  it  is  not !  I'll  have  that  El 
Dorado  yet !  the  Adelantado  made  Berreo,  when  he 
gave  him  his  daughter,  swear  that  he  would  hunt  for 
it,  through  Hfe  and  death. — We'll  see  who  finds  it 
first,  he  or  I.  He's  a  bungler ;  Orsua  was  a  bungler — 
Pooh !  Cortes  and  Pizarro  1  we'll  see  whether  there 
are  not  as  good  Castilians  as  they  left  still.  I  can  do 
it,  Sefior.  I  know  a  track,  a  plan ;  over  the  Llanos  is 
the  road ;  and  I'll  be  Emperor  of  Manoa  yet — possess 
the  jewels  of  all  the  Incas ;  and  gold,  gold  !  Pizarro 
was  a  beggar  to  what  I  will  be  I" 

"Conceive,  sir,"  he  broke  forth  during  another  of 
these  peacock  fits,  as  Amyas  and  he  were  riding  along 
the  hillside;  "conceive!  with  forty  chosen  cavaliers 
(what  need  of  more^)  I  present  myself  before  the 
golden  king,  trembling  amid  his  myriad  guards  at  the 
new  miracle  of  the  mailed  centaurs  of  the  West ;  and 
without  dismounting,  I  approach  his  throne,  lift  the 
crucifix  which  hangs  around  my  neck,  and  pressing  it 
to  my  lips,  present  it  for  the  adoration  of  the  idolater, 
and  give  him  his  alternative;  that  which  Gayferos 
and  the  Cid,  my  ancestors,  offered  the  Soldan  and  the 
Moor — baptism  or  death  !  He  hesitates ;  perhaps 
smiles  scornfully  upon  my  little  band ;  I  answer  him 
by  deeds,  as  Don  Ferdinando,  my  illustrious  grand- 
father, answered  Atahuallpa  at  Peru,  in  sight  of  all. 
his  court  and  camp." 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  331 

"With  your  lance  -  point,  as  Gayferos  did  the 
Soldanf  asked  Amyas,  amused. 

"No,  sir;  persuasion  first,  for  the  salvation  of  a 
soul  is  at  stake.  Not  with  the  lance-point,  but  the 
spur,  sir,  thus  ! " — 

And  striking  his  heels  into  his  horse's  flanks,  he 
darted  off  at  full  speed. 

"The  Spanish  traitor ! "  shouted  Yeo.  "Hes  go- 
ing to  escape  !     Shall  we  shoot,  sir  1     Shall  we  shoot  f 

"For  heaven's  sake,  no!"  said  Amyas,  looking 
somewhat  blank,  nevertheless,  for  he  much  doubted 
whether  the  whole  was  not  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniard,  and  he  knew  how  impossible  it  was  for  his 
fifteen  stone  of  flesh  to  give  chase  to  the  Spaniard's 
twelve.  But  he  was  soon  reassured;  the  Spaniard 
wheeled  round  towards  him,  and  began  to  put  the 
rough  hackney  through  all  the  paces  of  the  manege 
with  a  grace  and  skill  which  won  applause  from  the 
beholders. 

"Thus!"  he  shouted  waving  his  hand  to  Amyas, 
between  his  curvets  and  caracoles,  "  did  my  illustrious 
grandfather  exhibit  to  the  Paynim  emperor  the 
prowess  of  a  Castilian  cavalier  1  Thus  ! — and  thus  ! 
— and  thus,  at  last  he  dashed  up  to  his  very  feet,  as  I 
to  yours,  and  bespattering  that  unbaptized  visage 
with  his  Christian  bridlefoam,  pulled  up  his  charger 
on  his  haunches,  thus  !  " — 

And  (as  was  to  be  expected  from  a  blown  Irish 
garron  on  a  peaty  Irish  hill-side)  down  went  the  hap- 
less hackney  on  his  tail,  away  went  his  heels  a  yard 
in  front  of  him,  and  ere  Don  Guzman  could  "avoid 


332  HOW  AMYAS  KEPT 

his  selle,"  horse  and  man  rolled  over  into  a  neigh- 
bouring bog-hole. 

"After  pride  comes  a  fall,"  quoth  Yeo  with  un- 
moved visage  as  he  lugged  him  out. 

"And  what  would  you  do  with  the  Emperor  at 
lastf  asked  Amyas  when  the  Don  had  been  scrubbed 
somewhat  clean  with  a  bunch  of  rushes.  "  Kill  him, 
as  your  grandfather  did  Atahuallpa?" 

"My  grandfather,"  answered  the  Spaniard  indig- 
nantly, "  was  one  of  those,  who  to  their  eternal  honour, 
protested  to  the  last  against  that  most  cruel  and  un- 
knightly  massacre.  He  could  be  terrible  to  the 
heathen;  but  he  kept  his  plighted  word,  sir,  and 
taught  me  to  keep  mine,  as  you  have  seen  to-day." 

"I  have,  Seiior,"  said  Amyas.  "You  might  have 
given  us  the  slip  easily  enough  just  now,  and  did  not. 
Pardon  me  if  I  have  offended  you." 

The  Spaniard  (who,  after  all,  was  cross  principally 
with  himself  and  the  "unlucky  mare's  son,"  as  the 
old  romances  have  it,  which  had  played  him  so  scurvy 
a  trick)  was  all  smiles  again  forthwith ;  and  Amyas, 
as  they  chatted  on,  could  not  help  asking  him  next — 

"  I  wonder  why  you  are  so  frank  about  your  own 
intentions  to  an  enemy  like  me,  who  will  surely  fore- 
stal  you  if  he  can." 

"  Sir,  a  Spaniard  needs  no  concealment,  and  fears 
no  rivalry.  He  is  the  soldier  of  the  cross,  and  in  it 
he  conquers,  like  Constantine  of  old.  Not  that  you 
English  are  not  very  heroes :  but  you  have  not,  sir, 
and  you  cannot  have,  who  have  forsworn  our  Lady 
and  the  choir  of  saints,  the  same  divine  protection, 


HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY,  333 

the  same  celestial  mission,  which  enables  the  Catholic 
cavalier  single-handed  to  chase  a  thousand  Paynims." 

And  Don  Guzman  crossed  himself  devoutly,  and 
muttered  half-a-dozen  Ave  Marias  in  succession,  while 
Amyas  rode  silently  by  his  side,  utterly  puzzled  at 
this  strange  compound  of  shrewdness  with  fanaticism, 
of  perfect  high-breeding  with  a  boastfulness  which  in 
an  Englishman  would  have  been  the  sure  mark  of 
vulgarity. 

At  last  came  a  letter  from  Sir  Eichard  Grenvile, 
complimenting  Amyas  on  his  success  and  promotion, 
bearing  a  long  and  courtly  message  to  Don  Guzman 
(whom  Grenville  had  known  when  he  was  in  the 
Mediterranean,  at  the  battle  of  Lepanto),  and  offering 
to  receive  him  as  his  own  guest  at  Bideford,  till  his 
ransom  should  arrive ;  a  proposition  which  the  Spaniard 
(who  of  course  was  getting  sufficiently  tired  of  the 
Irish  bogs)  could  not  but  gladly  accept ;  and  one  of 
Winter's  ships,  returning  to  England  in  the  spring  of 
1581,  delivered  duly  at  the  quay  of  Bideford  the  body 
of  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena.  Raleigh,  after 
forming  for  that  summer  one  of  the  triumvirate  by 
which  Munster  was  governed  after  Ormond's  departure, 
at  last  got  his  wish,  and  departed  for  England  and 
the  court ;  and  Amyas  was  left  alone  with  the  snipes 
and  yellow  mantles  for  two  more  weary  years. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  THE  MAYOR  OF  BIDEFORD  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 
WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH. 

"  And  therewith  he  blent,  and  cried  ha  ! 
As  though  he  had  been  stricken  to  the  harte." 
Palamon  and  Arcite 

So  it  befell  to  Chaucer's  knight  in  prison ;  and  so  it 
befell  also  to  Don  G  uzman  ;  and  it  befell  on  this  wise. 

He  settled  down  quietly  enough  at  Bideford  on  his 
parole,  in  better  quarters  than  he  had  occupied  for 
many  a  day,  and  took  things  as  they  came,  like  a  true 
soldier  of  fortune ;  till,  after  he  had  been  with  Grenvile 
hardly  a  month,  old  Salterne  the  Mayor  came  to  supper. 

Now  Don  Guzman,  however  much  he  might  be 
puzzled  at  first  at  our  strange  English  ways  of  asking 
burghers  and  such  low-bred  folk  to  eat  and  drink 
above  the  salt,  in  the  company  of  noble  persons,  was 
quite  gentleman  enough  to  know  that  Richard  Grenvile 
was  gentleman  enough  to  do  only  what  was  correct, 
and  according  to  the  customs  and  proprieties.  So 
after  shrugging  the  shoulders  of  his  spirit,  he  submitted 
to  eat  and  drink  at  the  same  board  with  a  tradesman 
who  sat  at  a  desk,  and  made  up  ledgers,  and  took 
apprentices ;    and   hearing   him   talk   with   Grenvile 


HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK.       335 

neither  unwisely  nor  in  a  vulgar  fashion,  actually 
before  the  evening  was  out  condescended  to  exchange 
words  with  him  himself.  Whereon  he  found  him  a 
very  prudent  and  courteous  person,  quite  aware  of  the 
Spaniard's  superior  rank,  and  making  him  feel  in 
every  sentence,  that  he  was  aware  thereof;  and  yet 
holding  his  own  opinion,  and  asserting  his  own  rights 
as  a  wise  elder,  in  a  fashion  which  the  Spaniard  had 
only  seen  before  among  the  merchant  princes  of  Genoa 
and  Venice. 

At  the  end  of  supper,  Salterne  asked  Grenvile  to 
do  his  humble  roof  the  honour,  etc.  etc.,  of  supping 
with  him  the  next  evening ,  and  then  turning  to  the 
Don,  said  quite  frankly,  that  he  knew  how  great  a 
condescension  it  would  be  on  the  part  of  a  nobleman 
of  Spain  to  sit  at  the  board  of  a  simple  merchant : 
but  that  if  the  Spaniard  deigned  to  do  him  such  a 
favour,  he  would  find  that  the  cheer  was  fit  enough 
for  any  rank,  whatsoever  the  company  might  be ; 
which  invitation  Don  Guzman,  being  on  the  whole 
glad  enough  of  anything  to  amuse  him,  graciously 
condescended  to  accept,  and  gained  thereby  an  excel- 
lent supper,  and,  if  he  had  chosen  to  drink  it,  much 
good  wine. 

Now  Mr.  Salterne  was,  of  course,  as  a  wise  merchant, 
as  ready  as  any  man  for  an  adventure  to  foreign  parts, 
as  was  afterwards  proved  by  his  great  exertions  in 
the  settlement  of  Virginia;  and  he  was,  therefore, 
equally  ready  to  rack  the  brains  of  any  guest  whom 
he  suspected  of  knowing  anything  concerning  strange 
lands ;  and  so  he  thought  no  shame,  first  to  try  to 


336         HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

loose  his  guest's  tongue  by  much  good  sack,  and  next 
to  ask  him  prudent  and  well-concocted  questions  cen- 
cerning  the  Spanish  main,  Peru,  the  Moluccas,  China, 
the  Indies,  and  all  parts. 

The  first  of  which  schemes  failed ;  for  the  Spaniard 
was  as  abstemious  as  any  monk,  and  drank  little  but 
water;  the  second  succeeded  not  over  well,  for  the 
Spaniard  was  as  cunning  as  any  fox,  and  answered 
little  but  wind. 

In,  the  midst  of  which  tongue-fence  in  came  the 
Eose  of  Torridge,  looking  as  beautiful  as  usual ;  and 
hearing  what  they  were  upon,  added,  artlessly  enough, 
her  questions  to  her  father's :  to  her  Don  Guzman 
could  not  but  answer;  and  without  revealing  any 
very  important  commercial  secrets,  gave  his  host  and 
his  host's  daughter  a  very  amusing  evening. 

Now  little  Eros,  though  spirits  like  Frank  Leigh's 
may  choose  to  call  him  (as,  perhaps,  he  really  is  to 
them)  the  eldest  of  the  gods,  and  the  son  of  Jove 
and  Venus,  yet  is  reported  by  other  equally  good 
authorities,  as  Burton  has  set  forth  in  his  "  Anatomy 
of  Melancholy,"  to  be  after  all  only  the  child  of  idle- 
ness and  fulness  of  bread.  To  which  scandalous 
calumny  the  thoughts  of  Don  Guzman's  heart  gave  at 
least  a  certain  colour ;  for  he  being  idle  (as  captives 
needs  must  be),  and  also  full  of  bread  (for  Sir  Richard 
kept  a  very  good  table),  had  already  looked  round  for 
mere  amusement's  sake  after  some  one  with  whom  to 
fall  in  love.  Lady  Grenvile,  as  nearest,  was,  I  blush  to 
say,  thought  of  first :  but  the  Spaniard  was  a  man  of 
honour,  and  Sir  Richard  his  host;   so  he  put  away 


J 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  337 

from  his  mind  (with  a  self-denial  on  which  he  plumed 
himself  much)  the  pleasure  of  a  chase  equally  exciting 
to  his  pride  and  his  love  of  danger.  As  for  the  sin- 
fulness of  the  said  chase,  he  of  course  thought  no 
more  of  that  than  other  southern  Europeans  did  then, 
or  than  (I  blush  again  to  have  to  say  it)  the  English 
did  afterwards  in  the  days  of  the  Stuarts.  Neverthe- 
less, he  had  put  Lady  Grenvile  out  of  his  mind ;  and 
so  left  room  to  take  Eose  Salterne  into  it,  not  with 
any  distinct  purpose  of  wronging  her :  but,  as  I  said 
before,  half  to  amuse  himself,  and  half,  too,  because  he 
could  not  help  it.  For  there  was  an  innocent  fresh- 
ness about  the  Rose  of  Torridge,  fond  as  she  was  of 
being  admired,  which  was  new  to  him  and  most  at- 
tractive. "The  train  of  the  peacock,"  as  he  said  to 
himself,  "and  yet  the  heart  of  the  dove,"  made  so 
charming  a  combination,  that  if  he  could  have  per- 
suaded her  to  love  no  one  but  him,  perhaps  he  might 
become  fool  enough  to  love  no  one  but  her.  And  at 
that  thought  he  was  seized  with  a  very  panic  of  prud- 
ence, and  resolved  to  keep  out  of  her  way ;  and  yet 
the  days  ran  slowly,  and  Lady  Grenvile  when  at  home 
was  stupid  enough  to  talk  and  think  about  nothing 
but  her  husband;  and  when  she  went  to  Stow,  and 
left  the  Don  alone  in  one  corner  of  the  great  house  at 
Bideford,  what  could  he  do  but  lounge  down  to  the 
butt-gardens  to  show  off  his  fine  black  cloak  and  fine 
black  feather,  see  the  shooting,  have  a  game  or  two 
of  rackets  with  the  youngsters,  a  game  or  two  of  bowls 
with  the  elders,  and  get  himself  invited  home  to 
supper  by  Mr.  Salterne  1 

VOL.  L  z  w.  H. 


338        HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

And  there,  of  course,  he  had  it  all  his  own  way, 
and  ruled  the  roast  (which  he  was  fond  enough  of 
doing)  right  royally,  not  only  on  account  of  his  rank, 
but  because  he  had  something  to  say  worth  hearing, 
as  a  travelled  man.  For  those  times  were  the  day- 
dawn  of  English  commerce ;  and  not  a  merchant  in 
Bideford,  or  in  all  England,  but  had  his  imagination 
all  on  fire  with  projects  of  discoveries,  companies, 
privileges,  patents,  and  settlements ;  with  gallant 
rivalry  of  the  brave  adventures  of  Sir  Edward  Osborne 
and  his  new  London  Company  of  Turkey  Merchants ; 
with  the  privileges  just  granted  by  the  Sultan  Murad 
Khan  to  the  English ;  with  the  worthy  Levant  voyages 
of  Roger  Bodenham  in  the  great  bark  Aucher,  and  of 
John  Fox,  and  Lawrence  Aldersey,  and  John  Rule ; 
and  with  hopes  from  the  vast  door  for  Mediterranean 
trade,  which  the  crushing  of  the  Venetian  power  at 
Famagusta  in  Cyprus,  and  the  alliance  made  between 
Elizabeth  and  the  Grand  Turk,  had  just  thrown  open. 
So  not  a  word  could  fall  from  the  Spaniard  about  the 
Mediterranean  but  took  root  at  once  in  right  fertile 
soil.  Besides,  Master  Edmund  Hogan  had  been  on  a 
successful  embassy  to  the  Emperor  of  Morocco ;  John 
Hawkins  and  George  Fenner  had  been  to  Guinea 
(and  with  the  latter  Mr.  Walter  Wren,  a  Bideford 
man),  and  had  traded  there  for  musk  and  civet,  gold 
and  grain ;  and  African  news  was  becoming  almost  as 
valuable  as  West  Indian.  Moreover,  but  two  months 
before  had  gone  from  London  Captain  Hare  in  the 
bark  Minion,  for  Brazil,  and  a  company  of  adventurers 
with  him,  with  Sheffield  hardware,  and  "  Devonshire 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  339 

and  northern  kersies,"  hollands  and  "Manchester 
cottons,"  for  there  was  a  great  opening  for  English 
goods  by  the  help  of  one  John  Whithall,  who  had 
married  a  Spanish  heiress,  and  had  an  ingenio  and 
slaves  in  Santos.  (Don't  smile,  reader,  or  despise  the 
day  of  small  things,  and  those  who  sowed  the  seed 
whereof  you  reap  the  mighty  harvest.)  In  the  mean- 
while, Drake  had  proved  not  merely  the  possibility  of 
plundering  the  American  coasts,  but  of  establishing  an 
East  Indian  trade ;  Frobisher  and  Davis,  worthy  fore- 
fathers of  our  Parrys  and  Franklins,  had  begun  to 
bore  their  way  upward  through  the  northern  ice,  in 
search  of  a  passage  to  China  which  should  avoid  the 
dangers  of  the  Spanish  seas  ;  and  Anthony  Jenkinson, 
not  the  least  of  English  travellers,  had,  in  six-and- 
twenty  years  of  travel  in  behalf  of  the  Muscovite 
Company,  penetrated  into  not  merely  Russia  and  the 
Levant,  but  Persia  and  Armenia,  Bokhara,  Tartary, 
Siberia,  and  those  waste  Arctic  shores  where,  thirty 
years  before,  the  brave  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby, 

"In  Arzina  caught, 
Perished  with  all  his  crew, " 

Everywhere  English  commerce,  under  the  genial  sun- 
shine of  Elizabeth's  wise  rule,  was  spreading  and 
taking  root ;  and  as  Don  Guzman  talked  with  his  new 
friends,  he  soon  saw  (for  he  was  shrewd  enough)  that 
they  belonged  to  a  race  which  must  be  exterminated 
if  Spain  intended  to  become  (as  she  did  intend)  the 
mistress  of  the  world ;  and  that  it  was  not  enough 
for  Spain  to  have  seized  in  the  Pope's  name  the  whole 
new  world,  and  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  sail 


340        HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

the  seas  of  America ;  not  enough  to  have  crushed  the 
Hollanders ;  not  enough  to  have  degraded  the  Vene- 
tians into  her  bankers,  and  the  Genoese  into  her 
mercenaries;  not  enough  to  have  incorporated  into 
herself,  with  the  kingdom  of  Portugal,  the  whole  East 
Indian  trade  of  Portugal,  while  these  fierce  islanders 
remained  to  assert,  with  cunning  policy  and  texts  of 
Scripture,  and,  if  they  failed,  with  sharp  shot  and 
cold  steel,  free  seas  and  free  trade  for  all  the  nations 
upon  earth.  He  saw  it,  and  his  countrymen  saw  it 
too :  and  therefore  the  Spanish  Armada  came :  but 
of  that  hereafter.  And  Don  Guzman  knew  also,  by 
hard  experience,  that  these  same  islanders,  who  sat  in 
Salterne's  parlour  talking  broad  Devon  through  their 
noses,  were  no  mere  counters  of  money  and  hucksters 
of  goods :  but  men  who,  though  they  thoroughly 
hated  fighting,  and  loved  making  money  instead, 
could  fight,  upon  occasion,  after  a  very  dogged  and 
terrible  fashion,  as  well  as  the  bluest  blood  in  Spain ; 
and  who  sent  out  their  merchant  ships  armed  up  to 
the  teeth,  and  filled  with  men  who  had  been  trained 
from  childhood  to  use  those  arms,  and  had  orders  to 
use  them  without  mercy  if  either  Spaniard,  Portugal, 
or  other  created  being  dared  to  stop  their  money- 
making.  And  one  evening  he  waxed  quite  mad, 
when,  after  having  civilly  enough  hinted  that  if 
Englishmen  came  where  they  had  no  right  to  come, 
they  might  find  themselves  sent  back  again,  he  was 
answered  by  a  volley  of— 

"We'll  see  that,  sir." 

"Depends  on  who  says  'No  right.'" 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  341 

"You  found  might  right,"  said  another,  "when 
you  claimed  the  Indian  seas ;  we  may  find  right  might 
when  we  try  them." 

"Try  them,  then,  gentlemen,  by  all  means,  if  it 
shall  so  please  your  worships;  and  find  the  sacred 
flag  of  Spain  as  invincible  as  ever  was  the  Eoman 
eagle." 

"We  have,  sir.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  Francis 
Drake  f 

"Or  of  George  Fenner  and  the  Portugals  at  the 
Azores,  one  against  seven  f 

"Or  of  John  Hawkins,  at  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa?" 

"You  are  insolent  burghers,"  said  Don  Guzman, 
and  rose  to  go. 

"Sir,"  said  old  Salterne,  "as  you  say,  we  are 
burghers  and  plain  men,  and  some  of  us  have  for- 
gotten ourselves  a  little,  perhaps ;  we  must  beg  you 
to  forgive  our  want  of  manners,  and  to  put  it  down 
to  the  strength  of  my  wine ;  for  insolent  we  never 
meant  to  be,  especially  to  a  noble  gentleman  and  a 
foreigner." 

But  the  Don  would  not  be  pacified ;  and  walked 
out,  calling  himself  an  ass  and  a  blinkard  for  having 
demeaned  himself  to  such  a  company,  forgetting  that 
he  had  brought  it  on  himself. 

Salterne  (prompted  by  the  great  devil  Mammon) 
came  up  to  him  next  day,  and  begged  pardon  again ; 
promising,  moreover,  that  none  of  those  who  had 
been  so  rude  should  be  henceforth  asked  to  meet 
him,  if  he  would  deign  to  honour  his  house  once 
more.     And   the   Don   actually  was   appeased,    and 


342        HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

went  there  the  very  next  evening,  sneering  at  himself 
the  whole  time  for  going. 

"Fool  that  I  am!  that  girl  has  bewitched  me,  I 
believe.  Go  I  must,  and  eat  my  share  of  dirt,  for 
her  sake." 

So  he  went ;  and,  cunningly  enough,  hinted  to  old 
Salterne  that  he  had  taken  such  a  fancy  to  him,  and 
felt  so  bound  by  his  courtesy  and  hospitality,  that  he 
might  not  object  to  tell  him  things  which  he  would 
not  mention  to  every  one;  for  that  the  Spaniards 
were  not  jealous  of  single  traders,  but  of  any  general 
attempt  to  deprive  them  of  their  hard-earned  wealth  : 
that,  however,  in  the  meanwhile,  there  were  plenty 
of  opportunities  for  one  man  here  and  there  to  enrich 
himself,  etc. 

Old  Salterne,  shrewd  as  he  was,  had  his  weak 
point,  and  the  Spaniard  had  touched  it;  and  delighted 
at  this  opportunity  of  learning  the  mysteries  of  the 
Spanish  monopoly,  he  often  actually  set  Rose  on  to 
draw  out  the  Don,  without  a  fear  (so  blind  does 
money  make  men)  lest  she  might  be  herself  drawn  in. 
For,  first,  he  held  it  as  impossible  that  she  would 
think  of  marrying  a  Popish  Spaniard  as  of  marrying 
the  man  in  the  moon ;  and,  next,  as  impossible  that 
he  would  think  of  marrying  a  burgher's  daughter  as 
of  marrying  a  negress ;  and  trusted  that  the  religion 
of  the  one,  and  the  family  pride  of  the  other,  would 
keep  them  as  separate  as  beings  of  two  different 
species.  And  as  for  love  without  marriage,  if  such  a 
possibility  ever  crossed  him,  the  thought  was  rendered 
absurd ;  on  Rose's  part  by  her  virtue,  on  which  the 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  343 

old  man  (and  rightly)  would  have  staked  every  far- 
thing he  had  on  earth ;  and  on  the  Don's  part,  by  a 
certain  human  fondness  for  the  continuity  of  the  caro- 
tid artery  and  the  parts  adjoining,  for  which  (and  that 
not  altogether  justly,  seeing  that  Don  Guzman  cared 
as  little  for  his  own  life  as  he  did  for  his  neighbour's) 
Mr.  Salterne  gave  him  credit.  And  so  it  came  to  pass, 
that  for  weeks  and  months,  the  merchant's  house  was 
the  Don's  favourite  haunt,  and  he  saw  the  Rose  of 
Torridge  daily,  and  the  Rose  of  Torridge  heard  him. 

And  as  for  her,  poor  child,  she  had  never  seen  such 
a  man.  He  had,  or  seemed  to  have,  all  the  high-bred 
grace  of  Frank,  and  yet  he  was  cast  in  a  manlier 
mould ;  he  had  just  enough  of  his  nation's  proud  self- 
assertion  to  make  a  woman  bow  before  him  as  before 
a  superior,  and  yet  tact  enough  to  let  it  very  seldom 
degenerate  into  that  boastf  ulness  of  which  the  Spaniards 
were  then  so  often  and  so  justly  accused.  He  had 
marvels  to  tell  by  flood  and  field  as  many  and  more 
than  Amyas ;  and  he  told  them  with  a  grace  and  an 
eloquence  of  which  modest,  simple,  old  Amyas  pos- 
sessed nothing.  Besides,  he  was  on  the  spot,  and  the 
Leighs  were  not,  nor  indeed  were  any  of  her  old 
lovers;  and  what  could  she  do  but  amuse  herself 
with  the  only  person  who  came  to  hand  1 

So  thought,  in  time,  more  ladies  than  she ;  for  the 
country,  the  north  of  it  at  least,  was  all  but  bare  just 
then  of  young  gallants,  what  with  the  Netherland 
wars  and  the  Irish  wars;  and  the  Spaniard  became 
soon  welcome  at  every  house  for  many  a  mile  round, 
and  made  use  of  his  welcome  so  freely,  and  received 


344        HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

SO  much  unwonted  attention  from  fair  young  dames, 
that  his  head  might  have  been  a  little  turned,  and 
Rose  Salterne  have  thereby  escaped,  had  not  Sir 
Richard  delicately  given  him  to  understand  that  in 
spite  of  the  free  and  easy  manners  of  English  ladies, 
brothers  were  just  as  jealous,  and  ladies'  honours  at 
least  as  inexpugnable,  as  in  the  land  of  demureness 
and  Duennas,  Don  Guzman  took  the  hint  well 
enough,  and  kept  on  good  terms  with  the  country 
gentlemen  as  with  their  daughters ;  and  to  tell  the 
truth,  the  cunning  soldier  of  fortune  found  his  account 
in  being  intimate  with  all  the  ladies  he  could,  in  order 
to  prevent  old  Salterne  from  fancying  that  he  had  any 
peculiar  predilection  for  Mistress  Rose. 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Salteme's  parlour  being  nearest 
to  him,  still  remained  his  most  common  haunt ;  where, 
while  he  discoursed  for  hours  about 

* '  Antres  vast  and  deserts  idle, 
And  of  the  cannibals  that  each  other  eat, 
Of  Anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders," 

to  the  boundless  satisfaction  of  poor  Rose's  fancy,  he 
took  care  to  season  his  discourse  with  scraps  of  mer- 
cantile information,  which  kept  the  old  merchant 
always  expectant  and  hankering  for  more,  and  made 
it  worth  his  while  to  ask  the  Spaniard  in  again  and 
again. 

And  his  stories,  certainly,  were  worth  hearing.  He 
seemed  to  have  been  everywhere,  and  to  have  seen 
everything :  born  in  Peru,  and  sent  home  to  Spain  at 
ten  years  old ;  brought  up  in  Italy ;  a  soldier  in  the 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  345 

Levant ;  an  adventurer  to  the  East  Indies ;  again  in 
America,  first  in  the  islands,  and  then  in  Mexico. 
Then  back  again  to  Spain,  and  thence  to  Rome,  and 
thence  to  Ireland.  Shipwrecked ;  captive  among 
savages ;  looking  down  the  craters  of  volcanoes ; 
hanging  about  all  the  courts  of  Europe ;  fighting 
Turks,  Indians,  lions,  elephants,  alligators,  and  what 
not  ■?  at  five-and-thirty  he  had  seen  enough  for  three 
lives,  and  knew  how  to  make  the  best  of  what  he  had 
seen. 

He  had  shared,  as  a  lad,  in  the  horrors  of  the 
memorable  siege  of  Famagusta,  and  had  escaped,  he 
hardly  knew  himself  how,  from  the  hands  of  the 
victorious  Turks,  and  from  the  certainty  (if  he 
escaped  being  flayed  alive  or  impaled,  as  most  of  the 
captive  officers  were)  of  ending  his  life  as  a  Janissary 
at  the  Sultan's  court.  He  had  been  at  the  Battle  of 
the  Three  Kings ;  had  seen  Stukely  borne  down  by  a 
hundred  lances,  unconquered  even  in  death ;  and  had 
held  upon  his  knee  the  head  of  the  dying  king  of 
Portugal. 

And  now,  as  he  said  to  Rose  one  evening,  what  had 
he  left  on  earth,  but  a  heart  trampled  as  hard  as  the 
pavement  ?  Whom  had  he  to  love  1  Who  loved  him^ 
He  had  nothing  for  which  to  live  but  fame  :  and  even 
that  was  denied  to  him,  a  prisoner  in  a  foreign  land. 

"Had  he  no  kindred,  then?"  asked  pitying  Rose. 

"My  two  sisters  are  in  a  convent; — they  had 
neither  money  nor  beauty ;  so  they  are  dead  to  me. 
My  brother  is  a  Jesuit,  so  he  is  dead  to  me.  My 
father  fell  by  the  hands  of  Indians  in  Mexico ;  my 


346        HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

mother,  a  penniless  widow,  is  companion,  duenna — 
whatsoever  they  may  choose  to  call  it — carrying  fans 
and  lap-dogs  for  some  princess  or  other  there  in 
Seville,  of  no  better  blood  than  herself;  and  I — devil ! 
I  have  lost  even  my  sword — and  so  fares  the  house  of 
De  Soto." 

Don  Guzman,  of  course,  intended  to  be  pitied,  and 
pitied  he  was  accordingly.  And  then  he  would  turn 
the  conversation,  and  begin  telling  Italian  stories,  after 
the  Italian  fashion,  according  to  his  auditory;  the 
pathetic  ones  when  Eose  was  present,  the  racy  ones 
when  she  was  absent ;  so  that  Eose  had  wept  over  the 
sorrows  of  Juliet  and  Desdemona,  and  over  many 
another  moving  tale,  long  before  they  were  ever 
enacted  on  an  English  stage,  and  the  ribs  of  the  Bide- 
ford  worthies  had  shaken  to  many  a  jest  which  Cinthio 
and  Bandello's  ghosts  must  come  and  make  for  them- 
selves over  again  if  they  wish  them  to  be  remembered, 
for  I  shall  lend  them  no  shove  toward  immortality. 

And  so  on,  and  so  on.  What  need  of  more  words  1 
Before  a  year  was  out,  Eose  Salterne  was  far  more  in 
love  with  Don  Guzman  than  he  with  her ;  and  both 
suspected  each  other's  mind,  though  neither  hinted 
at  the  truth ;  she  from  fear,  and  he,  to  tell  the  truth, 
from  sheer  Spanish  pride  of  blood.  For  he  soon 
began  to  find  out  that  he  must  compromise  that  blood 
by  marrying  the  heretic  burgher's  daughter,  or  all  his 
labour  would  be  thrown  away. 

He  had  seen  with  much  astonishment,  and  then 
practised  with  much  pleasure,  that  graceful  old  English 
fashion  of  saluting  every  lady  on  the  cheek,  at  meet- 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  347 

ing,  which  (like  the  old  Dutch  fashion  of  asking  young 
ladies  out  to  feasts  without  their  mothers)  used  to 
give  such  cause  of  brutal  calumny  and  scandal  to  the 
coarse  minds  of  Eomish  visitors  from  the  Continent ; 
and  he  had  seen,  too,  fuming  with  jealous  rage,  more 
than  one  Bideford  burgher,  redolent  of  onions,  pro- 
fane in  that  way  the  velvet  cheek  of  Rose  Salteme. 

So,  one  day,  he  offered  his  salute  in  like  wise ;  but 
he  did  it  when  she  was  alone ;  for  something  within 
(perhaps  a  guilty  conscience)  whispered  that  it  might 
be  hardly  politic  to  make  the  proffer  in  her  father's 
presence :  however,  to  his  astonishment,  he  received 
a  prompt  though  quiet  rebuff. 

"  No,  sir ;  you  should  know  that  my  cheek  is  not 
for  you." 

"  Why,"  said  he,  stifling  his  anger,  "  it  seems  free 
enough  to  every  counter-jumper  in  the  town  ! " 

Was  it  love,  or  simple  innocence,  which  made  her 
answer  apologetically  "i 

"True,  Don  Guzman ;  but  they  are  my  equals." 

"And  If 

"You  are  a  nobleman,  sir;  and  should  recollect 
that  you  are  one." 

"Well,"  said  he,  forcing  a  sneer,  "it  is  a  strange 
taste  to  prefer  the  shopkeeper  ! " 

"Prefer?"  said  she,  forcing  a  laugh  in  her  turn; 
"  it  is  a  mere  form  among  us.  They  are  nothing  to 
me,  I  can  tell  you." 

"And  I,  then,  less  than  nothing f 

Rose  turned  very  red;  but  she  had  nerve  to 
answer — 


348         HOW  MR.  SALTERNE  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

"  And  why  should  you  be  anything  to  me  1  You 
have  condescended  too  much,  sir,  already  to  us,  in 
giving  us  many  a — many  a  pleasant  evening.  You 
must  condescend  no  further.  You  wrong  yourself, 
sir,  and  me  too.  No,  sir ;  not  a  step  nearer  ! — I  will 
not !  A  salute  between  equals  means  nothing :  but 
between  you  and  me — I  vow,  sir,  if  you  do  not  leave 
me  this  moment,  I  will  complain  to  my  father." 

"  Do  so,  madam  !  I  care  as  little  for  your  father's 
anger,  as  you  for  my  misery." 

"Cruel !"  cried  Rose,  trembling  from  head  to  foot. 

"I  love  you,  madam!"  cried  he,  throwing  himself- 
at  her  feet.  "  I  adore  you !  Never  mention  differ- 
ences of  rank  to  me  more ;  for  I  have  forgotten  them ; 
forgotten  all  but  love,  all  but  you,  madam  !  My  light, 
my  lodestar,  my  princess,  my  goddess !  You  see 
where  my  pride  is  gone ;  remember  I  plead  as  a  sup- 
pliant, a  beggar — though  one  who  may  be  one  day  a 
prince,  a  king !  ay,  and  a  prince  now,  a  very  Lucifer 
of  pride  to  all  except  to  you ;  to  you  a  wretch  who 
grovels  at  your  feet,  and  cries,  '  Have  mercy  on  me, 
on  my  loneliness,  my  homelessness,  my  friendlessness.' 
Ah,  Rose  (madam  I  should  have  said,  forgive  the 
madness  of  my  passion),  you  know  not  the  heart  which 
you  break.  Cold  Northerns,  you  little  dream  how  a 
Spaniard  can  love.  Love?  Worship,  rather;  as  I 
worship  you,  madam ;  as  I  bless  the  captivity  which 
brought  me  the  sight  of  you,  and  the  ruin  which  first 
made  me  rich.  Is  it  possible.  Saints  and  Virgin  !  do 
my  own  tears  deceive  my  eyes,  or  are  there  tears,  too. 
in  those  radiant  orbs?" 


WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH.  349 

"  Go,  sir  ! "  cried  poor  Eose,  recovering  herself  sud- 
denly; "and  let  me  never  see  you  more."  And,  as  a 
last  chance  for  life,  she  darted  out  of  the  room. 

"Your  slave  obeys  you,  madam,  and  kisses  your 
hands  and  feet  for  ever  and  a  day,"  said  the  cunning 
Spaniard,  and  drawing  himself  up,  walked  serenely 
out  of  the  house ;  while  she,  poor  fool,  peeped  after 
him  out  of  her  window  up-stairs,  and  her  heart  sank 
within  her  as  she  watched  his  jaunty  and  careless  air. 

How  much  of  that  rhapsody  of  his  was  honest, 
how  much  premeditated,  I  cannot  tell :  though  she, 
poor  child,  began  to  fancy  that  it  was  all  a  set  speech, 
when  she  found  that  he  had  really  taken  her  at  her 
word,  and  set  foot  no  more  within  her  father's  house. 
So  she  reproached  herself  for  the  crudest  of  women ; 
settled,  that  if  he  died,  she  should  be  his  murderess ; 
watched  for  him  to  pass  at  the  window,  in  hopes  that 
he  might  look  up,  and  then  hid  herself  in  terror  the 
moment  he  appeared  round  the  corner ;  and  so  forth, 
and  so  forth  : — one  love-making  is  very  like  another, 
and  has  been  so,  I  suppose,  since  that  first  blessed 
marriage  in  Paradise,  when  Adam  and  Eve  made  no 
love  at  all,  but  found  it  ready-made  for  them  from 
heaven ;  and  really  it  is  fiddling  while  Eome  is  burn- 
ing, to  spend  more  pages  over  the  sorrows  of  poor 
little  Eose  Salterne,  while  the  destinies  of  Europe  are 
hanging  on  the  marriage  between  Elizabeth  and 
Anjou  :  and  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  is  stirring  heaven 
and  earth,  and  Devonshire,  of  course,  as  the  most 
important  portion  of  the  said  earth,  to  carry  out  his 
dormant  patent,  which  will  give  to  England  in  due 


350         HOW  MR.  SALTERNS  BAITED  HIS  HOOK. 

time  (we  are  not  jesting  now)  Newfoundland,  Nova 
Scotia,  and  Canada,  and  the  Northern  States ;  and  to 
Humphrey  Gilbert  himself  something  better  than  a 
new  world,  namely  another  world,  and  a  crown  of 
glory  therein  which  never  fades  away. 


CHAPTER  XL 

HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH  MET  THE  POPE'S  LEGATE. 

"  Misguided,  rasli,  intruding  fool,  farewell ! 
Thou  see'st  to  be  too  busy  is  some  danger." 

Hamlet. 

It  is  the  spring  of  1582-3.  The  grey  March  skies  are 
curdling  hard  and  high  above  black  mountain  peaks. 
The  keen  March  wind  is  sweeping  harsh  and  dry 
across  a  dreary  sheet  of  bog,  still  red  and  yellow  with 
the  stains  of  winter  frost.  One  brown  knoll  alone 
breaks  the  waste,  and  on  it  a  few  leafless  wind-clipt 
oaks  stretch  their  moss-grown  arms,  like  giant  hairy 
spiders,  above  a  desolate  pool  which  crisps  and  shivers 
in  the  biting  breeze,  while  from  beside  its  brink  rises 
a  mournful  cry,  and  sweeps  down,  faint  and  fitful, 
amid  the  howling  of  the  wind. 

Along  the  brink  of  the  bog,  picking  their  road 
among  crumbling  rocks  and  green  spongy  springs,  a 
company  of  English  soldiers  are  pushing  fast,  clad 
cap-a-pi6  in  helmet  and  quilted  jerkin,  with  arquebus 
on  shoulder,  and  pikes  trailing  behind  them;  stern 
steadfast  men,  who,  two  years  since,  were  working 
the  guns  at  Smerwick  fort,  and  have  since  then  seen 
many  a  bloody  fray,  and  shall  see  more  before  they 


352  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

die.  Two  captains  ride  before  them  on  shaggy  ponies, 
the  taller  in  armour,  stained  and  rusted  with  many  a 
storm  and  fray,  the  other  in  brilliant  inlaid  cuirass 
and  helmet,  gaudy  sash  and  plume,  and  sword  hilt 
glittering  with  gold,  a  quaint  contrast  enough  to  the 
meagre  garron  which  carries  him  and  his  finery. 
Beside  them,  secured  by  a  cord  which  a  pikeman  has 
fastened  to  his  own  wrist,  trots  a  bare-legged  Irish 
kerne,  whose  only  clothing  is  his  ragged  yellow  mantle, 
and  the  unkempt  "  glib  "  of  hair,  through  which  his 
eyes  peer  out,  right  and  left,  in  mingled  fear  and 
sullenness.  He  is  the  guide  of  the  company,  in  their 
hunt  after  the  rebel  Baltinglas  ;  and  woe  to  him  if 
he  play  them  false. 

"A  pleasant  country,  truly,  Captain  Raleigh," 
says  the  dingy  officer  to  the  gay  one.  "  I  wonder 
how,  having  once  escaped  from  it  to  Whitehall,  you 
have  the  courage  to  come  back  and  spoil  that  gay 
suit  with  bog-water  and  mud." 

"A  very  pleasant  country,  my  friend  Amyas; 
what  you  say  in  jest,  I  say  in  earnest." 

"  Hillo !  Our  tastes  have  changed  places.  I  am 
sick  of  it  already,  as  you  foretold.  Would  Heaven 
that  I  could  hear  of  some  adventure  westward  ho ! 
and  find  these  big  bones  swinging  in  a  hammock 
once  more.  Pray  what  has  made  you  so  suddenly  in 
love  with  bog  and  rock,  that  you  come  back  to  tramp 
them  with  us?  I  thought  you  had  spied  out  the 
nakedness  of  the  land  long  ago." 

"  Bog  and  rock  •?  Nakedness  of  the  land  "^  What 
is  needed  here  but  prudence  and  skill,  justice  and 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.        353 

law  ^  This  soil,  see,  is  fat  enough,  if  men  were  here 
to  till  it.  These  rocks — who  knows  what  minerals 
they  may  hold?  I  hear  of  gold  and  jewels  found 
already  in  divers  parts;  and  Daniel,  my  brother 
Humphrey's  German  assayer,  assures  me  that  these 
rocks  are  of  the  very  same  kind  as  those  which 
yield  the  silver  in  Peru.  Tut,  man !  if  her  gracious 
Majesty  would  but  bestow  on  me  some  few  square 
miles  of  this  same  wilderness,  in  seven  years'  time 
I  would  make  it  blossom  like  the  rose,  by  God's  good 
help." 

"  Humph !  I  should  be  more  inclined  to  stay  here 
then." 

"  So  you  shall,  and  be  my  agent,  if  you  will,  to  get 
in  my  mine-rents,  and  my  corn-rents,  and  my  fishery- 
rents,  eh'?  Could  you  keep  accounts,  old  knight  of 
the  bear's-paw?" 

"  Well  enough  for  such  short  reckonings  as  yours 
would  be,  on  the  profit  side  at  least.  No,  no — I'd 
sooner  carry  lime  all  my  days  from  Cauldy  to  Bide- 
ford,  than  pass  another  twelvemonth  in  the  land  of 
Ire,  among  the  children  of  wrath.  There  is  a  curse 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  I  believe." 

"There  is  no  curse  upon  it,  save  the  old  one  of 
man's  sin — 'Thorns  and  thistles  it  shall  bring  forth 
to  thee.'  But  if  you  root  up  the  thorns  and  thistles, 
Amyas,  I  know  no  fiend  who  can  prevent  your  grow- 
ing wheat  instead  ,  and  if  you  till  the  ground  like  a 
man,  you  plough  and  harrow  away  nature's  curse,  and 
other  fables  of  the  schoolmen  beside,"  added  he,  in 
that  daring  fashion  which  afterwards  obtained  for 
voi^  I.  2  a  X  w.  h. 


354  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

him  (and  never  did  good  Christian  less  deserve  it) 
the  imputation  of  Atheism. 

"  It  is  sword  and  bullet,  I  think,  that  are  needed 
here,  before  plough  and  harrow,  to  clear  away  some 
of  the  curse.  Until  a  few  more  of  these  Irish  lords 
are  gone  where  the  Desmonds  are,  there  is  no  peace 
for  Ireland." 

"  Humph !  not  so  far  wrong,  I  fear.  And  yet — 
Irish  lords  1  These  very  traitors  are  better  English 
blood  than  we  who  hunt  them  down.  When  Yeo 
here  slew  the  Desmond  the  other  day,  he  no  :::ore  let 
out  a  drop  of  Irish  blood,  than  if  he  had  slain  the 
Lord  Deputy  himself." 

"His  blood  be  on  his  own  head,"  said  Yeo.  "He 
looked  as  wild  a  savage  as  the  worst  of  them,  more 
shame  to  him ;  and  the  Ancient  here  had  nigh  cut  off 
his  arm  before  he  told  us  who  he  was  :  and  then,  your 
worship,  having  a  price  upon  his  head,  and  like  to 
bleed  to  death  too " 

"Enough,  enough,  good  fellow,"  said  Raleigh. 
"  Thou  hast  done  what  was  given  thee  to  do.  Strange, 
Amyas,  is  it  not  1  Noble  Normans  sunk  into  savages 
— Hibernis  ipsis  hiberniores !  Is  there  some  uncivil- 
ising  venom  in  the  air?" 

"  Some  venom,  at  least,  which  makes  Englishmen 
traitors.  But  the  Irish  themselves  are  well  enough, 
if  their  tyrants  would  let  them  be.  See  now,  what 
more  faithful  liegeman  has  her  Majesty  than  the 
Inchiquin,  who,  they  say,  is  Prince  of  Themond,  and 
should  be  king  of  all  Ireland,  if  every  man  had  his 
right  f 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.  355 

"Don't  talk  of  rights  in  the  land  of  wrongs,  man. 
But  the  Inchiquin  knows  well  that  the  true  Irish  Esau 
has  no  worse  enemy  than  his  supplanter,  the  Norman 
Jacob.  And  yet,  Amyas,  are  even  these  men  worse 
than  we  might  be,  if  we  had  been  bred  up  masters 
over  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men,  in  some  remote 
land  where  law  and  order  had  never  come  ?  Look  at 
this  Desmond,  brought  up  a  savage  among  savages,  a 
Papist  among  Papists,  a  despot  among  slaves;  a 
thousand  easy  maidens  deeming  it  honour  to  serve 
his  pleasure,  a  thousand  wild  ruffians  deeming  it  piety 
to  fulfil  his  revenge :  and  let  him  that  is  without  sin 
among  us  cast  the  first  stone." 

"Ay,"  went  on  Raleigh  to  himself,  as  the  conver- 
sation dropped.  "What  hadst  thou  been,  Raleigh, 
hadst  thou  been  that  Desmond  whose  lands  thou  now 
desirest  'i  What  wilt  thou  be  when  thou  hast  them "? 
Will  thy  children  sink  downwards,  as  these  noble 
barons  sank  ?  Will  the  genius  of  tyranny  and  false- 
hood find  soil  within  thy  heart  to  grow  and  ripen 
fruit?  What  guarantee  hast  thou  for  doing  better 
here  than  those  who  went  before  thee?  And  yet: 
cannot  I  do  justice,  and  love  mercy?  Can  I  not 
establish  plantations,  build  and  sow,  and  make  the 
desert  valleys  laugh  with  corn?  Shall  I  not  have 
my  Spenser  with  me,  to  fill  me  with  all  noble  thoughts, 
and  raise  my  soul  to  his  heroic  pitch  ?  Is  not  this 
true  knight-errantry,  to  redeem  to  peace  and  use,  and 
to  the  glory  of  that  glorious  Queen  whom  God  has 
given  to  me,  a  generous  soil  and  a  more  generous 
race  ?    Trustful  and  tender-hearted  they  are — none 


356  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

more ;  and  if  they  be  fickle  and  passionate,  will  not 
that  very  softness  of  temper,  which  makes  them  so 
easily  led  to  evil,  make  them  as  easy  to  be  led  towards 
good  ?  Yes — here,  away  from  courts,  among  a  people 
who  should  bless  me  as  their  benefactor  and  deliverer 
— what  golden  days  might  be  mine!  And  yet — is 
this  but  another  angel's  mask  from  that  same  cunning 
fiend  Ambition's  stage  1  And  will  my  house  be  in- 
deed the  house  of  God,  the  foundations  of  which  are 
loyalty,  and  its  bulwarks  righteousness,  and  not  the 
house  of  Fame,  whose  walls'  are  of  the  soap-bubble, 
and  its  floor  a  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  1  I  would 
be  good  and  great — When  will  the  day  come  when  I 
shall  be  content  to  be  good,  and  yet  not  great,  like 
this  same  simple  Leigh,  toiling  on  by  my  side  to  do 
his  duty,  with  no  more  thought  for  the  morrow  than 
the  birds  of  God?  Greatness ■?  I  have  tasted  that 
cup  within  the  last  twelve  months ;  do  I  not  know 
that  it  is  sweet  in  the  mouth,  but  bitter  in  the  belly  1 
Greatness  ?  And  was  not  Essex  great,  and  John  of 
Austria  great,  and  Desmond  great,  whose  race,  but 
three  short  years  ago,  had  stood  for  ages  higher  than 
I  shall  ever  hope  to  climb — castles,  and  lands,  and 
slaves  by  thousands,  and  five  hundred  gentlemen  of 
his  name,  who  had  vowed  to  forswear  God  before 
they  forswore  him;  and  well  have  they  kept  their 
vow !  And  now,  dead  in  a  turf-hovel,  like  a  coney  in 
a  burrow !     Leigh,  what  noise  was  that  V 

"  An  Irish  howl,  I  fancied :  but  it  came  from  ofi" 
the  bog ;  it  may  be  only  a  plover's  cry." 

"Something  not  quite  right,  Sir  Captain,  to  my 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.  357 

mind,"  said  the  Ancient.  "They  have  ugly  stories 
here  of  pucks  and  banshees,  and  what  not  of  ghosts. 
There  it  was  again,  wailing  just  like  a  woman.  They 
say  the  banshee  cried  all  night  before  Desmond  was 
slain." 

"  Perhaps,  then,  this  one  may  be  cr3ring  for  Balt- 
inglas ;  for  his  turn  is  likely  to  come  next — not  that 
I  believe  in  such  old  wives'  tales." 

"  Shamus,  my  man,"  said  Amyas  to  the  guide,  "  do 
you  hear  that  cry  in  the  bogf 

The  guide  put  on  the  most  stolid  of  faces,  and 
answered  in  broken  English : 

"Shamus  hear  nought.  Perhaps — what  you  call 
him"? — fishing  in  ta  pool." 

"An  otter,  he  means,  and  I  believe  he  is  right. 
Stay,  no !  Did  you  not  hear  it  then,  Shamus  1  It 
was  a  woman's  voice." 

"  Shamus  is  shick  in  his  ears  ever  since  Christmas." 

"Shamus  will  go  after  Desmond  if  he  lies,"  said 
Amyas.  "Ancient,  we  had  better  send  a  few  men  to 
see  what  it  is ;  there  may  be  a  poor  soul  taken  by 
robbers,  or  perhaps  starving  to  death,  as  I  have  seen 
many  a  one." 

"And  I  too,  poor  wretches;  and  by  no  fault  of 
their  own  or  ours  either  :  but  if  their  lords  will  fall 
to  quarrelling,  and  then  drive  each  other's  cattle,  and 
waste  each  other's  lands,  sir,  you  know " 

"I  know,"  said  Amyas,  impatiently;  "why  dost 
not  take  the  men,  and  go  f 

"Cry  you  mercy,  noble  Captain:  but — I  fear 
nothing  bom  of  woman." 


358  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

"Well,  what  of  that?"  said  Amyas,  with  a  smile. 

"  But  these  pucks,  sir.  The  wild  Irish  do  say  that 
they  haunt  the  pools;  and  they  do  no  manner  of 
harm,  sir,  when  you  are  coming  up  to  them;  but 
when  you  are  past,  sir,  they  jump  on  your  back  like 
to  apes,  sir, — and  who  can  tackle  that  manner  of 
fiend  •?" 

"Why,  then,  by  thine  own  showing,  Ancient," 
said  Kaleigh,  "thou  may'st  go  and  see  all  safely 
enough,  and  then  if  the  puck  jumps  on  thee  as  thou 
comest  back,  just  run  in  with  him  here,  and  I'll  buy 
him  of  thee  for  a  noble ;  or  thou  may'st  keep  him  in 
a  cage,  and  make  money  in  London  by  showing  him 
for  a  monster." 

"  Good  heavens  forefend.  Captain  Raleigh!  but  you 

talk  rashly  !     But  if  I  must.  Captain  Leigh  : — 

'  Where  duty  calls 
To  brazen  walls, 
How  base  the  slave  who  flinches.' 

Lads,  who'll  follow  me?" 

"  Thou  askest  for  volunteers,  as  if  thou  wert  to  lead 
a  forlorn  hope.  Pull  away  at  the  usquebaugh,  man, 
and  swallow  Dutch  courage,  since  thine  English  is 
oozed  away.     Stay;  I'll  go  myself." 

"  And  I  with  you,"  said  Raleigh.  "As  the  Queen's 
true  knight-errant,  I  am  bound  to  be  behindhand  in  no 
adventure.  Who  knows  but  we  may  find  a  wicked 
magician,  just  going  to  cut  off*  the  head  of  some  saffron- 
mantled  princess?"  and  he  dismounted. 

"  Oh,  sirs,  sirs,  to  endanger  your  precious " 

"Pooh,"  said  Raleigh.     "I  wear  an  amulet,  and 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.         359 

have  a  spell  of  art-magic  at  my  tongue's  end,  whereby, 
Sir  Ancient,  neither  can  a  ghost  see  me,  nor  I  see 
them.  Come  with  us,  Yeo,  the  Desmond-slayer,  and 
we  will  shame  the  devil,  or  be  shamed  by  him." 

"  He  may  shame  me,  sir,  but  he  will  never  frighten 
me  :"  quoth  Yeo  ;  "but  the  bog.  Captains f 

"  Tut !  Devonshire  men,  and  heath-trotters  born, 
and  not  know  our  way  over  a  peat-moor !" 

And  the  three  strode  away. 

They  splashed  and  scrambled  for  some  quarter  of 
a  mile  to  the  knoll,  while  the  cry  became  louder  and 
louder  as  they  neared. 

"That's  neither  ghost  nor  otter,  sirs,  but  a  true 
Irish  howl,  as  Captain  Leigh  said;  and  I'll  warrant 
Master  Shamus  knew  as  much  long  ago,"  said  Yeo. 

And  in  fact,  they  could  now  hear  plainly  the 
"Ochone,  Ochonorie,"  of  some  wild  woman;  and 
scrambling  over  the  boulders  of  the  knoll,  in  another 
minute  came  full  upon  her. 

She  was  a  young  girl,  sluttish  and  unkempt,  of 
course,  but  fair  enough ;  her  only  covering,  as  usual, 
was  the  ample  yellow  mantle.  There  she  sat  upon  a 
stone,  tearing  her  black  dishevelled  hair,  and  every 
now  and  then  throwing  up  her  head,  and  bursting 
into  a  long  mournful  cry,  "for  all  the  world,"  as  Yeo 
said,  "like  a  dumb  four-footed  hound,  and  not  a 
Christian  soul." 

On  her  knees  lay  the  head  of  a  man  of  middle  age, 
in  the  long  soutane  of  a  Romish  priest.  One  look  at 
the  attitude  of  his  limbs  told  them  that  he  was  dead. 

The  two  paused  in  awe ;  and  Raleigh's  spirit,  sus- 


360  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

ceptible  of  all  poetical  images,  felt  keenly  that  strange 
scene, — the  bleak  and  bitter  sky,  the  shapeless  bog, 
the  stunted  trees,  the  savage  girl  alone  with  the  corpse 
in  that  utter  desolation.  And  as  she  bent  her  head 
over  the  still  face,  and  called  wildly  to  him  who  heard 
her  not,  and  then,  utterly  unmindful  of  the  intruders, 
sent  up  again  that  dreary  wail  into  the  dreary  air, 
they  felt  a  sacred  horror,  which  almost  made  them 
turn  away,  and  leave  her  unquestioned :  but  Yeo, 
whose  nerves  were  of  tougher  fibre,  asked  quietly, — 

"Shall  I  go  and  search  the  fellow.  Captain T' 

"Better,  I  think,"  said  Amyas. 

Ealeigh  went  gently  to  the  girl,  and  spoke  to  her 
in  English.  She  looked  up  at  him,  his  armour  and 
his  plume,  with  wide  and  wondering  eyes,  and  then 
shook  her  head,  and  returned  to  her  lamentation. 

Raleigh  gently  laid  his  hand  on  her  arm,  and  lifted 
her  up,  while  Yeo  and  Amyas  bent  over  the  corpse. 

It  was  the  body  of  a  large  and  coarse-featured 
man :  but  wasted  and  shrunk  as  if  by  famine  to  a 
very  skeleton.  The  hands  and  legs  were  cramped 
up,  and  the  trunk  bowed  together,  as  if  the  man  had 
died  of  cold  or  famine.  Yeo  drew  back  the  clothes 
from  the  thin  bosom,  while  the  girl  screamed  and 
wept,  but  made  no  effort  to  stop  him. 

"Ask  her  who  it  is"?  Yeo,  you  know  a  little  Irish," 
said  Amyas. 

He  asked,  but  the  girl  made  no  answer.  "The 
stubborn  jade  won't  tell  of  course,  sir.  If  she  were 
but  a  man,  I'd  make  her  soon  enough." 

"Ask  her  who  killed  him?" 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.         361 

"  No  one,  she  says ;  and  I  believe  she  says  trae,  for 
I  can  find  no  wound.  The  man  has  been  starved,  sirs, 
as  I  am  a  sinful  man.  God  help  him,  though  he  is  a 
priest:  and  yet  he  seems  full  enough  down  below. 
What's  here  'i  A  big  pouch,  sirs,  stuifed  full  of  some- 
what." 

"Hand  it  hither." 

The  two  opened  the  pouch  ;  papers,  papers,  bul  no 
scrap  of  food.     Then  a  parchment.     They  unrolled  it. 

"Latin,"  said  Amyas;  "you  must  construe,  Don 
Scholar." 

"Is  it  possible f  said  Ealeigh,  after  reading  a 
moment.  "  This  is  indeed  a  prize  !  This  is  Saunders 
himself!" 

Yeo  sprang  up  from  the  body  as  if  he  had  touched 
an  adder.     "Nick  Saunders,  the  Legacy,  sir?" 

"Nicholas  Saunders,  the  Legate." 

"  The  villain  !  why  did  not  he  wait  for  me  to  have 
the  comfort  of  killing  him  1  Dog  ! "  and  he  kicked  the 
corpse  with  his  foot. 

"Quiet!  quiet!  Eemember  the  poor  girl,"  said 
Amyas,  as  she  shrieked  at  the  profanation,  while 
Ealeigh  went  on,  half  to  himself.  "Yes,  this  is 
Saunders.  Misguided  fool,  and  this  is  the  end  !  To 
this  thou  hast  come  with  thy  plotting  and  thy  conspir- 
ing, thy  lying  and  thy  boasting,  consecrated  banners 
and  Pope's  bulls,  Agnus  Deis  and  holy  waters,  the 
blessing  of  all  saints  and  angels,  and  thy  Lady  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception !  Thou  hast  called  on  the 
Heavens  to  judge  between  thee  and  us,  and  here  is 
their  answer  !     What  is  that  in  his  hand,  Amyas  1 


362  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

Give  it  me.  A  pastoral  epistle  to  the  Earl  of  Orinond, 
and  all  nobles  of  the  realm  of  Ireland ;  '  To  all  who 
groan  beneath  the  loathsome  tyranny  of  an  illegitimate 
adulteress,  etc.,  Nicholas  Saunders,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
Legate,  etc'  Bah!  and  this  forsooth  was  thy  last 
meditation  !  Incorrigible  pedant !  Victrix  causa  Diis 
placuit,  sed  victa  Catoni ! " 

He  ran  his  eye  througli  various  other  documents, 
written  in  the  usual  strain:  full  of  huge  promises 
from  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Spain ;  frantic  and 
filthy  slanders  against  Elizabeth,  Burghley,  Leicester, 
Essex  (the  elder),  Sidney,  and  every  great  and  good 
man  (never  mind  of  which  party)  who  then  upheld  the 
commonweal ;  bombastic  attempts  to  terrify  weak 
consciences,  by  denouncing  endless  fire  against  those 
who  opposed  the  true  faith;  fulsome  ascriptions  of 
martyrdom  and  sanctity  to  every  rebel  and  traitor  who 
had  been  hanged  for  the  last  twenty  years ;  wearisome 
arguments  about  the  bull  In  Coena  Domini,  Elizabeth's 
excommunication,  the  nullity  of  English  law,  the 
sacred  duty  of  rebellion,  the  right  to  kill  a  prince 
impenitently  heretical,  and  the  like  insanities  and 
villanies,  which  may  be  read  at  large  in  Camden,  the 
Phoenix  Britannicus,  Fox's  Martyrs,  or,  surest  of  all, 
in  the  writings  of  the  worthies  themselves. 

With  a  gesture  of  disgust,  Ealeigh  crammed  the 
foul  stuff  back  again  into  the  pouch.  Taking  it  with 
them,  they  walked  back  to  the  company,  and  then  re- 
mounting, marched  away  once  more  towards  the  lands 
of  the  Desmonds ;  and  the  girl  was  left  alone  with  the 
dead. 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.  363 

An  hour  had  passed,  when  another  Englishman  was 
standing  by  the  wailing  girl,  and  round  him  a  dozen 
shockheaded  kernes,  skene  on  thigh  and  javelin  in 
hand,  were  tossing  about  their  tawny  rags,  and  adding 
their  lamentations  to  those  of  the  lonely  watcher. 

The  Englishman  was  Eustace  Leigh ;  a  layman  still, 
but  still  at  his  old  work.  By  two  years  of  intrigue 
and  labour  from  one  end  of  Ireland  to  the  other,  he 
had  been  trying  to  satisfy  his  conscience  for  rejecting 
"  the  higher  calling  "  of  the  celibate ;  for  mad  hopes 
still  lurked  within  that  fiery  heart.  His  brow  was 
wrinkled  now ;  his  features  harshened ;  the  scar  upon 
his  face,  and  the  slight  distortion  which  accompanied 
it,  was  hidden  by  a  bushy  beard  from  all  but  himself ; 
and  he  never  forgot  it  for  a  day,  nor  forgot  who  had 
given  it  to  him. 

He  had  been  with  Desmond,  wandering  in  moor  and 
moss  for  many  a  month  in  danger  of  his  life ;  and  now 
he  was  on  his  way  to  James  Fitz- Eustace,  Lord 
Baltinglas,  to  bring  him  the  news  of  Desmond's  death  ; 
and  with  him  a  remnant  of  the  clan,  who  were  either 
too  stouthearted,  or  too  desperately  stained  with  crime, 
to  seek  peace  from  the  English,  and,  as  their  fellows 
did,  find  it  at  once  and  freely. 

There  Eustace  stood,  looking  down  on  all  that  was 
left  of  the  most  sacred  personage  of  Ireland ;  the  man 
who,  as  he  once  had  hoped,  was  to  regenerate  his 
native  land,  and  bring  the  proud  island  of  the  west 
once  more  beneath  that  gentle  yoke,  in  which  united 
Christendom  laboured  for  the  commonweal  of  the 
universal  church.      There  he  was,  and  with  him  all 


364  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

Eustace's  dreams,  in  the  very  heart  of  that  country 
which  he  had  vowed,  and  believed  as  he  vowed,  was 
ready  to  rise  in  arms  as  one  man,  even  to  the  baby  at 
the  breast  (so  he  had  said),  in  vengeance  against  the 
Saxon  heretic,  and  sweep  the  hated  name  of  English- 
man into  the  deepest  abysses  of  the  surge  which  walled 
her  coasts  ;  with  Spain  and  the  Pope  to  back  him,  and 
the  wealth  of  the  Jesuits  at  his  command;  in  the 
midst  of  faithful  Catholics,  valiant  soldiers,  noblemen 
who  had  pledged  themselves  to  die  for  the  cause,  serfs 
who  worshipped  him  as  a  demigod — starved  to  death 
in  a  bog  !  It  was  a  pretty  plain  verdict  on  the  reason- 
ableness of  his  expectations ;  but  not  to  Eustace  Leigh. 

It  was  a  failure,  of  course ;  but  it  was  an  accident ; 
indeed,  to  have  been  expected,  in  a  wicked  world 
whose  prince  and  master,  as  all  knew,  was  the  devil 
himself;  indeed,  proof  of  the  righteousness  of  the 
cause — for  when  had  the  true  faith  been  other  than 
persecuted  and  trampled  under  foot  ^  If  one  came  to 
think  of  it  with  eyes  purified  from  the  tears  of  carnal 
impatience,  what  was  it  but  a  glorious  martyrdom  ? 

" Blest  Saunders  ! "  murmui'ed  Eustace  Leigh ;  "let 
me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end 
be  like  this !  Ora  pro  me,  most  excellent  martyr, 
while  I  dig  thy  grave  upon  this  lonely  moor,  to  wait 
there  for  thy  translation  to  one  of  those  stately  shrines, 
which,  cemented  by  the  blood  of  such  as  thee,  shall 
hereafter  rise  restored  toward  heaven,  to  make  this 
land  once  more  'The  Isle  of  Saints.'" 

The  corpse  was  buried ;  a  few  prayers  said  hastily ; 
and  Eustace  Leigh  was  away  again,  not  now  to  find 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.  365 

Baltinglas ;  for  it  was  more  than  his  life  was  worth. 
The  girl  had  told  him  of  the  English  soldiers  who  had 
passed,  and  he  knew  that  they  would  reach  the  earl 
probably  before  he  did.  The  game  was  up ;  all  was 
lost.  So  he  retraced  his  steps,  as  a  desperate  resource, 
to  the  last  place  where  he  would  be  looked  for  :  and 
after  a  month  of  disguising,  hiding,  and  other  ex- 
pedients, found  himself  again  in  his  native  county  of 
Devon,  while  Fitz- Eustace  Viscount  Baltinglas  had 
taken  ship  for  Spain,  having  got  little  by  his  famous 
argument  to  Ormond  in  behalf  of  his  joining  the 
Church  of  Eome,  "Had  not  thine  ancestor,  blessed 
Thomas  of  Canterbury,  died  for  the  Church  of  Eome, 
thou  hadst  never  been  Earl  of  Ormond. "  The  premises 
were  certainly  sounder  than  those  of  his  party  were 
wont  to  be  ;  for  it  was  to  expiate  the  murder  of  that 
turbulent  hero  that  the  Ormond  lands  had  been 
granted  by  Henry  II. :  but  as  for  the  conclusion  there- 
from, it  was  much  on  a  par  with  the  rest. 

And  now  let  us  return  to  Raleigh  and  Amyas,  as 
they  jog  along  their  weary  road.  They  have  many 
thingB  to  talk  of ;  for  it  is  but  three  days  since  they 
met. 

Amyas,  as  you  see,  is  coming  fast  into  Raleigh's 
old  opinion  of  Ireland.  Raleigh,  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  possible  grant  of  Desmond's  lands,  looks  on 
bogs  and  rocks  transfigured  by  his  own  hopes  and 
fancy,  as  if  by  the  glory  of  a  rainbow.  He  looked  at 
all  things  so,  noble  fellow,  even  thirty  years  after, 
when  old,  worn  out,  and  ruined ;  well  for  him  had  it 
been  otherwise,  and  his  heart  had  grown  old  with  his 


366  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

head  !  Amyas,  who  knows  nothing  about  Desmond's 
lands,  is  puzzled  at  the  change. 

"Why,  what  is  this,  Ealeigh?  You  are  like 
children  sitting  in  the  market-place,  and  nothing 
pleases  you.  You  wanted  to  get  to  com-t,  and  you 
have  got  there ;  and  are  lord  and  master,  I  hear,  or 
something  very  like  it,  already — and  as  soon  as 
Fortune  stuffs  your  mouth  full  of  sweetmeats,  do  you 
turn  informer  on  herf 

Ealeigh  laughed  insignificantly :  but  was  silent. 

"  And  how  is  your  friend,  Mr.  Secretary  Spenser, 
who  was  with  us  at  Smerwickf 

"  Spenser  1  He  has  thriven  even  as  I  have ;  and 
he  has  found,  as  I  have,  that  in  making  one  friend  at 
court  you  make  ten  foes ;  but '  Oderint  Dum  metuant ' 
is  no  more  my  motto  than  his,  Leigh.  I  want  to  be 
great — great  I  am  already,  they  say,  if  princes'  favour 
can  swell  the  frog  into  an  ox :  but  I  want  to  be  liked, 
loved — I  want  to  see  people  smile  when  I  enter." 

"So  they  do,  I'll  warrant,"  said  Amyas. 

"So  do  hyenas,"  said  Raleigh;  "grin  because  they 
are  hungry,  and  I  may  throw  them  a  bone ;  I'll  throw 
you  one  now,  old  lad,  or  rather  a  good  sirloin  of  beef, 
for  the  sake  of  your  smile.  That's  honest,  at  least, 
I'll  warrant,  whosoever's  else  is  not.  Have  you  lieard 
of  my  brother  Humphrey's  new  project  f 

"  How  should  I  hear  anything  in  this  waste  howl- 
ing wilderness  f 

"Kiss  hands  to  the  wilderness  then,  and  come 
with  me  to  Newfoundland  !" 

"You  to  Newfoundland r' 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.         367 

"  Yes.  I  to  Newfoundland,  unless  my  little  matter 
here  is  settled  at  once.  Gloriana  don't  know  it,  and 
shan't  till  I'm  off.  She'd  send  me  to  the  Tower,  I 
think,  if  she  caught  me  playing  truant.  I  could 
hardly  get  leave  to  come  hither ;  but  I  must  out, 
and  try  my  fortune.  I  am  over  ears  in  debt  already, 
and  sick  of  courts  and  courtiers.  Humphrey  must 
go  next  spring  and  take  possession  of  his  kingdom 
beyond  seas,  or  his  patent  expires;  and  with  him  I 
go,  and  you  too,  my  circumnavigating  giant. 

And  then  Ealeigh  expounded  to  Amyas  the  details 
of  the  great  Newfoundland  scheme,  which  whoso  will 
may  read  in  the  pages  of  Hakluyt. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  Raleigh's  half-brother,  held 
a  patent  for  "  planting  "  the  lands  of  Newfoundland 
and  "  Meta  Incognita  "  (Labrador).  He  had  attempted 
a  voyage  thither  with  Ealeigh  in  1578,  whereof  I 
never  could  find  any  news,  save  that  he  came  back 
again,  after  a  heavy  brush  with  some  Spanish  ships 
(in  which  his  best  captain,  Mr.  Morgan,  was  killed), 
having  done  nothing,  and  much  impaired  his  own 
estate:  but  now  he  had  collected  a  large  sum;  Sir 
Gilbert  Peckham  of  London,  Mr.  Hayes  of  South 
Devon,  and  various  other  gentlemen,  of  whom  more 
hereafter,  had  adventured  their  money;  and  a  con- 
siderable colony  was  to  be  sent  out  the  next  year, 
with  miners,  assayers,  and,  what  was  more,  Parmenius 
Budseus,  Frank's  old  friend,  who  had  come  to  England 
full  of  thirst  to  see  the  wonders  of  the  New  World ; 
and  over  and  above  this,  as  Raleigh  told  Amyas  in 
strictest  secrecy,  Adrian  Gilbert,  Humphrey's  brother, 


368  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

was  turning  every  stone  at  court  for  a  patent  of  dis- 
covery in  the  north-west;  and  this  Newfoundland 
colony,  though  it  was  to  produce  gold,  silver,  merchan- 
dise and  what  not,  was  but  a  basis  of  operations,  a 
half-way  house  from  whence  to  work  out  the  north- 
west passage  to  the  Indies — that  golden  dream,  as 
fatal  to  English  valour  as  the  Guiana  one  to  Spanish 
— and  yet  hardly,  hardly,  to  be  regretted,  when  we 
remember  the  seamanship,  the  science,  the  chivalry, 
the  heroism,  unequalled  in  the  history  of  the  English 
nation,  which  it  has  called  forth  among  those  our 
later  Arctic  voyagers,  who  have  combined  the  knight- 
errantry  of  the  middle  age  with  the  practical  prudence 
of  the  modern,  and  dared  for  duty  more  than  Cortez 
or  Pizarro  dared  for  gold. 

Amyas,  simple  fellow,  took  all  in  greedily;  he 
knew  enough  of  the  dangers  of  the  Magellan  passage 
to  appreciate  the  boundless  value  of  a  road  to  the 
East  Indies  which  would  (as  all  supposed  then)  save 
half  the  distance,  and  be  as  it  were  a  private  posses- 
sion of  the  English,  safe  from  Spanish  interference ; 
and  he  listened  reverently  to  Sir  Humphrey's  quaint 
proofs,  half  true,  half  fantastic,  of  such  a  passage, 
which  Raleigh  detailed  to  him — of  the  Primum 
Mobile,  and  its  diurnal  motion  from  east  to  west,  in 
obedience  to  which  the  sea-current  flowed  westward 
ever  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  being  unable 
to  pass  through  the  narrow  strait  between  South 
America  and  the  Antarctic  continent,  rushed  up  the 
American  shore,  as  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  poured 
north-westward  between  Greenland    and    Labrador 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.  369 

towards  Cathay  and  India ;  of  that  most  crafty  argu- 
ment of  Sir  Humphrey's — how  Aristotle  in  his  book 
De  Mundo,  and  Simon  Gryneus  in  his  annotations 
thereon,  declare  that  the  world  (the  Old  World)  is  an 
island,  compassed  by  that  which  Homer  calls  the  river 
Oceanus ;  ergo,  the  New  World  is  an  island  also,  and 
there  is  a  north-west  passage ;  of  the  three  brothers 
(names  unknown)  who  had  actually  made  the  voyage, 
and  named  what  was  afterwards  called  Davis's  Strait 
after  themselves ;  of  the  Indians  who  were  cast  ashore 
in  Germany  in  the  reign  of  Frederic  Barbarossa,  who, 
as  Sir  Humphrey  had  learnedly  proved  per  modum 
toUendi,  could  have  come  only  by  the  north-west; 
and  above  all,  of  Salvaterra,  the  Spaniard,  who  in 
1568  had  told  Sir  Henry  Sidney  (Philip's  father), 
there  in  Ireland,  how  he  had  spoken  with  a  Mexican 
friar  named  Urdaneta,  who  had  himself  come  from 
Mar  del  Zur  (the  Pacific)  into  Germany  by  that  very 
north-west  passage ;  at  which  last  Amyas  shook  his 
head,  and  said  that  friars  were  liars,  and  seeing 
believing ;  "  but  if  you  must  needs  have  an  adventure, 
you  insatiable  soul  you,  why  not  try  for  the  golden 
city  of  Manoa?" 

"Manoaf  asked  Raleigh,  who  had  heard,  as  most 
had,  dim  rumours  of  the  place.  "  What  do  you  know 
oiitr 

Whereon  Amyas  told  him  all  that  he  had  gathered 
from  the  Spaniard ;  and  Raleigh,  in  his  turn,  believed 
every  word. 

"  Humph  !"  said  he  after  a  long  silence.  "To  find 
that  golden  Emperor ;  offer  him  help  and  friendship 

VOL.  L  2  b  w.  h, 


370  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

from  the  Queen  of  England ;  defend  him  against  the 
Spaniards ;  if  we  became  strong  enough,  conquer  back 
all  Peru  from  the  Popish  tyrants,  and  reinstate  him 
on  the  throne  of  the  Incas,  with  ourselves  for  his 
body-guard,  as  the  Norman  Varangians  were  to  the 
effeminate  Emperors  of  Byzant — Hey,  Amyas^  You 
would  make  a  gallant  chieftain  of  Varangs.  We'll  do 
it,  lad!" 

"We'll  try,"  said  Amyas;  "but  we  must  be  quick, 
for  there's  one  Berreo  sworn  to  carry  out  the  quest  to 
the  death ;  and  if  the  Spaniards  once  get  thither,  their 
plan  of  works  will  be  much  more  like  Pizarro's  than 
like  yours ;  and  by  the  time  we  come,  there  will  be 
neither  gold  nor  city  left." 

"  Nor  Indians  either,  I'll  warrant  the  butchers ;  but 
lad,  I  am  promised  to  Humphrey;  I  have  a  bark 
fitting  out  already,  and  all  I  have,  and  more,  adven- 
tured in  her ;  so  Manoa  must  wait." 

"  It  will  wait  well  enough,  if  the  Spaniards  prosper 
no  better  on  the  Amazon  than  they  hav^e  done ;  but 
must  I  come  with  you  ^  To  tell  the  truth,  I  am  quite 
shore-sick,  and  to  sea  I  must  go.  What  will  my 
mother  sayf 

"I'll  manage  thy  mother,**  said  Raleigh;  and  so 
he  did ;  for,  to  cut  a  long  story  short,  he  went  back 
the  month  after,  and  he  not  only  took  home  letters 
from  Amyas  to  his  mother,  but  so  impressed  on  that 
good  lady  the  enormous  profits  and  honours  to  be 
derived  from  Meta  Incognita,  and  (which  was  most 
true)  the  advantage  to  any  young  man  of  sailing  with 
such  a  general  as  Humphrey  Gilbert,  most  pious  and 


MET  THE  rOPE'S  LEGATE.         371 

most  learned  of  seamen  and  of  cavaliers,  beloved  and 
honoured  above  all  his  compeers  by  Queen  Elizabeth, 
that  she  consented  to  Amyas's  adventuring  in  the 
voyage  some  two  hundred  pounds  which  had  come  to 
him  as  his  share  of  prize-money,  after  the  ever  memor- 
able circumnavigation.  For  Mrs.  Leigh,  be  it  under- 
stood, was  no  longer  at  Burrough  Court.  By  Frank's 
persuasion,  she  had  let  the  old  place,  moved  up  to 
London  with  her  eldest  son,  and  taken  for  herself  a 
lodging  somewhere  by  Palace  Stairs,  which  looked  out 
upon  the  silver  Thames  (for  Thames  was  silver  then), 
with  its  busy  ferries  and  gliding  boats,  across  to  the 
pleasant  fields  of  Lambeth,  and  the  Archbishop's 
Palace,  and  the  wooded  Suirey  hills ;  and  there  she 
spent  her  peaceful  days,  close  to  her  Frank  and  to  the 
Court.  Elizabeth  would  have  had  her  re-enter  it, 
offering  her  a  small  place  in  the  household :  but  she 
declined,  saying  that  she  was  too  old  and  heart-weary 
for  aught  but  prayer.  So  by  prayer  she  lived,  under 
the  sheltering  shadow  of  the  tall  minster,  where  she 
went  mom  and  even  to  worship,  and  to  entreat  for 
the  two  in  whom  her  heart  was  bound  up ;  and  Frank 
slipped  in  every  day,  if  but  for  five  minutes,  and 
brought  with  him  Spenser,  or  Raleigh,  or  Dyer,  or 
Bodseus,  or  sometimes  Sidney's  self:  and  there  was 
talk  of  high  and  holy  things,  of  which  none  could 
speak  better  than  could  she;  and  each  guest  went 
from  that  hallowed  room  a  humbler  and  yet  a  loftier 
man.  So  shpped  on  the  peaceful  months;  and  few 
and  far  between  came  Irish  letters,  for  Ireland  was 
then  farther  from  Westminster  than  is  the  Black  Sea 


372  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

now ;  but  those  were  days  in  which  wives  and  mothers 
had  learned  (as  they  have  learned  once  more,  sweet 
souls !)  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight  for  those 
they  love  :  and  Mrs.  Leigh  was  content  (though  when 
was  she  not  content  1)  to  hear  that  Amyas  was  win- 
ning a  good  report  as  a  brave  and  prudent  officer, 
sober,  just  and  faithful,  beloved  and  obeyed  alike  by 
English  soldiers  and  Irish  kernes. 

Those  two  years,  and  the  one  which  followed,  were 
the  happiest  which  she  had  known  since  her  husband's 
death.  But  the  cloud  was  fast  coming  up  the  horizon, 
though  she  saw  it  not.  A  little  longer,  and  the  sun 
would  be  hid  for  many  a  wintry  day. 

Amyas  went  to  Plymouth  (with  Yeo,  of  course,  at 
his  heels),  and  there  beheld,  for  the  first  time,  the 
majestic  countenance  of  the  philosopher  of  Compton 
Castle.  He  lodged  with  Drake,  and  found  him  not 
over  sanguine  as  to  the  success  of  the  voyage. 

"  For  learning  and  manners,  Amyas,  there's  not  his 
equal;  and  the  Queen  may  well  love  him,  and  Devon  be 
proud  of  him :  but  book-learning  is  not  business ;  book- 
learning  didn't  get  me  round  the  world ;  book-learning 
didn't  make  Captain  Hawkins,  nor  his  father  neither, 
the  best  shipbuilders  from  Hull  to  Cadiz ;  and  book- 
learning,  I  very  much  fear,  won't  plant  Newfoundland." 

However,  the  die  was  cast,  and  the  little  fleet  of 
five  sail  assembled  in  Cawsand  Bay.  Amyas  was  to 
go  as  a  gentleman  adventurer  on  board  of  Raleigh's 
bark ;  Ealeigh  himself,  however,  at  the  eleventh  hour, 
had  been  forbidden  by  the  Queen  to  leave  England. 
Ere  they  left,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  picture  was 


MET  THE  pope's  LEGATE.         373 

painted  by  some  Plymouth  artist,  to  be  sent  up  to 
Elizabeth  in  answer  to  a  letter  and  a  gift  sent  by 
Ealeigh,  which,  as  a  specimen  of  the  men  and  of  the 
time,  I  here  transcribe : — 

1  "  Brother, — I  have  sent  you  a  token  from  her 
Majesty,  an  anchor  guided  by  a  lady,  as  you  see. 
And  further,  her  Highness  willed  me  to  send  you 
word,  that  she  wisheth  you  as  great  good  hap  and 
safety  to  your  ship  as  if  she  were  there  in  person, 
desiring  you  to  have  care  of  yourself  as  of  that  which 
she  tendereth ;  and,  therefore,  for  her  sake,  you  must 
provide  for  it  accordingly.  Furthermore,  she  com- 
mandeth  that  you  leave  your  picture  with  her.  For 
the  rest  I  leave  till  our  meeting,  or  to  the  report  of 
the  bearer,  who  would  needs  be  the  messenger  of  this 
good  news.  So  I  commit  you  to  the  will  and  protec- 
tion of  God,  who  send  us  such  life  and  death  as  he 
shall  please,  or  hath  appointed. 

"  Richmond,  this  Friday  morning, 
"  Your  true  Brother, 

"W.  Ealeigh." 

"Who  would  not  die,  sir,  for  such  a  woman ■?"  said 
Sir  Humphrey  (and  he  said  truly),  as  he  showed  that 
letter  to  Amyas. 

"Who  would  not?  But  she  bids  you  rather  live 
for  her." 

"  I  shall  do  both,  young  man ;  and  for  God  too,  I 

^  This  letter  was  a  few  years  since  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Pomeroy  Gilbert,  fort-major  at  Dartmouth,  a  descendant  of  the 
Admiral's. 


374  HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH 

trust.  We  are  going  in  God's  cause ;  we  go  for  the 
honour  of  God's  Gospel,  for  the  deliverance  of  poor 
infidels  led  captive  Ijy  the  devil ;  for  the  relief  of  my 
distressed  countrymen  unemployed  within  this  narrow 
isle;  and  to  God  we  commit  our  cause.  We  fight 
against  the  devil  himself ;  and  stronger  is  He  that  is 
within  us  than  he  that  is  against  us." 

Some  say  that  Raleigh  himself  came  down  to  Ply- 
mouth, accompanied  the  fleet  a  day's  sail  to  sea,  and 
would  have  given  her  Majesty  the  slip,  and  gone  with 
them  Westward-ho,  but  for  Sir  Humphrey's  advice. 
It  is  likely  enough :  but  I  cannot  find  evidence  for  it. 
At  all  events,  on  the  11th  June  the  fleet  sailed  out, 
having,  says  Mr.  Hayes,  "in  number  about  260  men, 
among  whom  we  had  of  every  faculty  good  choice, 
as  shipwrights,  masons,  carpenters,  smiths,  and  such 
like,  requisite  for  such  an  action;  also  mineral  men 
and  refiners.  Beside,  for  solace  of  our  people  and 
allurement  of  the  savages,  we  were  provided  of  musique 
in  good  variety ;  not  omitting  the  least  toys,  as  morris- 
dancers,  hobby-horses,  and  May-like  conceits,  to  delight 
the  savage  people,  whom  we  intended  to  win  by  all 
fair  means  possible."  An  armament  complete  enough, 
even  to  that  tenderness  towards  the  Indians,  which  is 
so  striking  a  feature  of  the  Elizabethan  seamen  (called 
out  in  them,  perhaps,  by  horror  at  the  Spanish  cruel- 
ties, as  well  as  by  their  more  liberal  creed),  and  to 
the  datily  service  of  God  on  board  of  every  ship, 
according  to  the  simple  old  instructions  of  Captain 
John  Hawkins  to  one  of  his  little  squadrons,  "  Keep 
good  company ;  beware  of  fire ;  serve  God  daily ;  and 


375 

love  one  another" — an  armament,  in  short,  complete 
in  all  but  men.  The  sailors  had  been  picked  up 
hastily  and  anywhere,  and  soon  proved  themselves  a 
mutinous,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  bark  Swallow,  a 
piratical  set.  The  mechanics  were  little  better.  The 
gentlemen-adventurers,  puffed  up  with  vain  hopes  of 
finding  a  new  Mexico,  became  soon  disappointed  and 
surly  at  the  hard  practical  reality ;  while  over  all  was 
the  head  of  a  sage  and  an  enthusiast,  a  man  too  noble 
to  suspect  others,  and  too  pure  to  make  allowances  for 
poor  dirty  human  weaknesses.  He  had  got  his  scheme 
perfect  upon  paper ;  well  for  him,  and  for  his  company, 
if  he  had  asked  Francis  Drake  to  translate  it  for  him 
into  fact !  As  early  as  the  second  day,  the  seeds  of 
failure  began  to  sprout  above  ground.  The  men  of 
Raleigh's  bark,  the  Vice -Admiral,  suddenly  found 
themselves  seized,  or  supposed  themselves  seized,  with 
a  contagious  sickness,  and  at  midnight  forsook  the 
fleet,  and  went  back  to  Plymouth ;  whereto  Mr.  Hayes 
can  only  say,  "The  reason  I  never  could  understand. 
Sure  I  am  that  Mr.  Raleigh  spared  no  cost  in  setting 
them  forth.     And  so  I  leave  it  unto  God !" 

But  Amyas  said  more.  He  told  Butler  the  Captain 
plainly  that,  if  the  bark  went  back,  he  would  not; 
that  he  had  seen  enough  of  ships  deserting  their 
consorts ;  that  it  should  never  be  said  of  him  that  he 
had  followed  Winter's  example,  and  that,  too,  on  a 
fair  easterly  ^vind;  and  finally  that  he  had  seen 
Doughty  hanged  for  trying  to  play  such  a  trick,  and 
that  he  might  see  others  hanged  too  before  he  died. 
Whereon  Captain  Butler  offered  to  draw  and  fight,  to 


376    now  EUSTACE  LEIGH  MET  THE  POPE'S  LEGATE. 

which  Amyas  showed  no  repugnance;  whereon  the 
captain,  having  taken  a  second  look  at  Amyas's  thews 
and  sinews,  reconsidered  the  matter,  and  offered  to 
put  Amyas  on  board  of  Sir  Humphrey's  Delight,  if  he 
could  find  a  crew  to  row  him. 

Amyas  looked  round. 

"Are  there  any  of  Sir  Francis  Drake's  men  on  board?" 

"Three,  sir,"  said  Yeo.  "Eobert  Drew,  and  two 
others." 

"Pelicans !"  roared  Amyas,  "you  have  been  round 
the  world,  and  will  you  tiu-n  back  from  Westward-ho  ?" 

There  was  a  moment's  silence,  and  then  Drew  came 
forward. 

"  Lower  us  a  boat,  captain,  and  lend  us  a  caliver  to 
make  signals  with^  while  I  get  my  kit  on  deck ;  I'll 
after  Captain  Leigh,  if  I  row  him  aboard  all  alone  to 
my  own  hands." 

"  If  I  ever  command  a  ship,  I  will  not  forget  you," 
said  Amyas. 

"  Nor  us  either,  sir,  we  hope ;  for  we  haven't  for- 
gotten you  and  your  honest  conditions,"  said  both  the 
other  Pelicans ;  and  so  away  over  the  side  went  all 
the  five,  and  pulled  away  after  the  admiral's  lantern, 
firing  shots  at  intervals  as  signals.  Luckily  for  the 
five  desperadoes,  the  night  was  all  but  calm.  They 
got  on  board  before  the  morning,  and  so  away  into 
the  boundless  West.^ 

^  The  Raleigh,  the  largest  ship  of  the  squadron,  was  of  only 
200  tons  burden  ;  The  Golden  Hind,  Hayes'  ship,  which  returned 
safe,  of  40  ;  and  The  Squirrel  (whereof  more  hereafter),  of  10 
tons  !  In  such  cockboats  did  these  old  heroes  brave  the  un- 
knoA^Ti  seas. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE  DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE. 

.    ' '  Three  lords  sat  drinking  late  yestreen, 
And  ere  they  paid  the  lawing, 
They  set  a  combat  them  between, 
To  fight  it  in  the  dawing." — Scotch  Ballad. 

Every  ope  who  knows  Bideford  cannot  but  know 
Bideford  Bridge  ;  for  it  is  the  very  omphalos,  cynosure, 
and  soul,  around  which  the  town,  as  a  body,  has 
organised  itself ;  and  as  Edinburgh  is  Edinburgh  by 
virtue  of  its  Castle,  Eome  Eome  by  virtue  of  its 
Capitol,  and  Egypt  Egypt  by  virtue  of  its  PyTamids, 
so  is  Bideford  Bideford  by  virtue  of  its  Bridge.  But 
all  do  not  know  the  occult  powers  which  have 
advanced  and  animated  the  said  wondrous  bridge  for 
now  five  hundred  years,  and  made  it  the  chief  wonder, 
according  to  Prince  and  Fuller,  of  this  fair  land  of 
Devon :  being  first  an  inspired  bridge ;  a  soul-saving 
bridge ;  an  alms-giving  bridge ;  an  educational  bridge ; 
a  sentient  bridge ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  a  dinner- 
giving  bridge.  All  do  not  know  how,  when  it  began 
to  be  built  some  half  mile  higher  up,  hands  invisible 
carried  the  stones  down- stream  each  night  to  the 
present  site ;  until  Sir  Richard  Gurney,  parson  of  the 
parish,  going  to  bed  one  night  in  sore  perplexity  and 


378  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

fear  of  the  evil  spirit  who  seemed  so  busy  in  his 
sheepfold,  beheld  a  vision  of  an  angel,  who  bade  build 
the  bridge  where  he  himself  had  so  kindly  transported 
the  materials;  for  there  alone  was  sure  foundation 
amid  the  broad  sheet  of  shifting  sand.  All  do  not 
know  how  Bishop  Grandison  of  Exeter  proclaimed 
throughout  his  diocese  indulgences,  benedictions,  and 
"participation  in  all  spiritual  blessings  for  ever,"  to 
all  who  would  promote  the  bridging  of  that  dangerous 
ford;  and  so,  consulting  alike  the  interests  of  their  souls 
and  of  their  bodies,  "make  the  best  of  both  worlds." 

All  do  not  know,  nor  do  I,  that  "though  the  foun- 
dation of  the  bridge  is  laid  upon  wool,  yet  it  shakes 
at  the  slightest  step  of  a  horse;"  or  that,  "though  it 
has  twenty-three  arches,  yet  one  Wm.  Alford  (another 
Milo)  carried  on  his  back  for  a  wager  four  bushels 
salt-water  measure,  all  the  length  thereof;"  or  that 
the  bridge  is  a  veritable  esquire,  bearing  arms  of  its 
own  (a  ship  and  bridge  proper  on  a  plain  field),  and 
owning  lands  and  tenements  in  many  parishes,  with 
which  the  said  miraculous  bridge  has,  from  time  to 
time,  founded  charities,  built  schools,  waged  suits  at 
law,  and  finally  (for  this  concerns  us  most)  given 
yearly  dinners,  and  kept  for  that  purpose  (luxurious 
and  liquorous  bridge  that  it  was)  the  best  stocked 
cellar  of  wines  in  all  Devon. 

To  one  of  these  dinners,  as  it  happened,  were  in- 
vited in  the  year  1583,  all  the  notabilities  of  Bideford, 
and  beside  them  Mr  St.  Leger  of  Annery  close  by, 
brother  of  the  Marshal  of  Munster,  and  of  Lady 
Grenvile;  a  most  worthy  and  hospitable  gentleman, 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  379 

who,  finding  riches  a  snare,  parted  with  them  so  freely 
to  all  his  neighbours  as  long  as  he  lived,  that  he 
effectually  prevented  his  children  after  him  from  fall- 
ing into  the  temptations  thereunto  incident. 

Between  him  and  one  of  the  bridge  trustees  arose 
an  argument,  whether  a  salmon  caught  below  the 
bridge  was  better  or  worse  than  one  caught  above ; 
and  as  that  weighty  question  could  only  be  decided  by 
practical  experiment,  Mr.  St.  Leger  vowed,  that  as  the 
bridge  had  given  him  a  good  dinner,  he  would  give 
the  bridge  one ;  offered  a  bet  of  five  pounds  that  he 
would  find  them,  out  of  the  pool  below  Annery,  as  firm 
and  flaky  a  salmon  as  the  Appledore  one  which  they  had 
just  eaten;  and  then,  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  invited 
the  whole  company  present  to  dine  with  him  at  Annery 
three  days  after,  and  bring  with  them  each  a  wife  or 
daughter;  and  Don  Guzman  being  at  table,  he  was 
invited  too. 

So  there  was  a  mighty  feast  in  the  great  hall  at 
Annery,  such  as  had  seldom  been  since  Judge  Hank- 
ford  feasted  Edward  the  Fourth  there;  and  while 
every  one  was  eating  their  best  and  drinking  their 
worst.  Rose  Salterne  and  Don  Guzman  were  pretend- 
ing not  to  see  each  other,  and  watching  each  other  all 
the  more.  But  Rose,  at  least,  had  to  be  very  careful 
of  her  glances ;  for  not  only  was  her  father  at  the 
table,  but  just  opposite  her  sat  none  other  than 
Messrs.  William  Gary  and  Arthur  St.  Leger,  Lieu- 
tenants in  her  Majesty's  Irish  army,  who  had  returned 
on  furlough  a  few  days  before. 

Rose  Salterne  and  the  Spaniard  had  not  exchanged 


380  HOW  BIDEFOED  BRIDGE 

a  word  in  the  last  six  months,  though  they  had  met 
many  times.  The  Spaniard  by  no  means  avoided  her 
company,  except  in  her  father's  house ;  he  only  took 
care  to  obey  her  carefully,  by  seeming  always  uncon- 
scious of  her  presence,  beyond  the  stateliest  of  salutes 
at  entering  and  departing.  But  he  took  care,  at  the 
same  time,  to  lay  himself  out  to  the  very  best  advan- 
tage whenever  he  was  in  her  presence;  to  be  more 
witty,  more  eloquent,  more  romantic,  more  full  of 
wonderful  tales  than  he  ever  yet  had  been.  The  cun- 
ning Don  had  found  himself  foiled  in  his  first  tactic ; 
and  he  was  now  trying  another,  and  a  far  more  for- 
midable one.  In  the  first  place,  Eose  deserved  a  very 
severe  punishment,  for  having  dared  to  refuse  the  love 
of  a  Spanish  nobleman ;  and  what  greater  punishment 
could  he  inflict  than  withdrawing  the  honour  of  his 
attentions,  and  the  sunshine  of  his  smiles?  There 
was  conceit  enough  in  that  notion,  but  there  was 
cunning  too ;  for  none  knew  better  than  the  Spaniard, 
that  women,  like  the  world,  are  pretty  sure  to  value 
a  man  (especially  if  there  be  any  real  worth  in  him) 
at  his  own  price ;  and  that  the  more  he  demands  for 
himseK,  the  more  they  will  give  for  him. 

And  now  he  would  put  a  high  price  on  himself, 
and  pique  her  pride,  as  she  was  too  much  accustomed 
to  worship,  to  be  won  by  flattering  it.  He  might  have 
done  that  by  paying  attention  to  some  one  else  :  but 
he  was  too  "wise  to  employ  so  coarse  a  method,  which 
might  raise  indignation,  or  disgust,  or  despair  in  Eose's 
heart,  but  would  have  never  brought  her  to  his  feet — 
as  it  will  never  bring  any  woman  worth  bringing.     So 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  381 

he  quietly  and  unobtrusively  showed  her  that  he  could 
do  without  her ;  and  she,  poor  fool,  as  she  was  meant 
to  do,  began  forthwith  to  ask  herself — why  ^  What 
was  the  hidden  treasure,  what  was  the  reserve  force, 
which  made  him  independent  of  her,  while  she  could 
not  say  that  she  was  independent  of  him  ?  Had  he  a 
secret  1  how  pleasant  to  know  it !  Some  huge  ambi- 
tion ?  how  pleasant  to  share  in  it !  Some  mysterious 
knowledge  1  how  pleasant  to  learn  it !  Some  capacity 
of  love  beyond  the  common  1  how  delicious  to  have  it 
all  for  her  own !  He  must  be  greater,  wiser,  richer- 
hearted  than  she  was,  as  well  as  better-born.  Ah,  if  his 
wealth  would  but  supply  her  poverty  ?  And  so,  step 
by  step,  she  was  being  led  to  sue  in  forma  pauperis  to 
the  very  man  whom  she  had  spurned  when  he  sued  in 
like  form  to  her.  That  temptation  of  having  some 
mysterious  private  treasure,  of  being  the  priestess  of 
some  hidden  sanctuary,  and  being  able  to  thank 
heaven  that  she  was  not  as  other  women  are,  was 
becoming  fast  too  much  for  Rose,  as  it  is  too  much  for 
most.  For  none  knew  better  than  the  Spaniard  how 
much  more  fond  women  are,  by  the  very  law  of  their 
sex,  of  worshipping  than  of  being  worshipped,  and  of 
obeying  than  of  being  obeyed ;  how  their  coyness, 
often  their  scorn,  is  but  a  mask  to  hide  their  conscious- 
ness of  weakness;  and  a  mask,  too,  of  which  they 
themselves  will  often  be  the  first  to  tire. 

And  Rose  was  utterly  tired  of  that  same  mask  as 
she  sat  at  table  at  Annery  that  day ;  and  Don  Guzman 
saw  it  in  her  uneasy  and  downcast  looks,  and  think- 
ing (conceited  coxcomb)  that  she  must  be  by  now  suf- 


382  HOW  BIDEFORD  BEIDGE 

ficiently  punished,  stole  a  glance  at  her  now  and  then, 
and  was  not  abashed  when  he  saw  that  she  dropped  her 
eyes  when  they  met  his,  because  he  saw  her  silence 
and  abstraction  increase,  and  something  like  a  blush 
steal  into  her  cheeks.  So  he  pretended  to  be  as  much 
downcast  and  abstracted  as  she  was,  and  went  on  with 
his  glances,  till  he  once  found  her,  poor  thing,  looking 
at  him  to  see  if  he  was  looking  at  her ;  and  then  he 
knew  his  prey  was  safe,  and  asked  her,  with  his  eyes, 
"Do  you  forgive  mel"  and  saw  her  stop  dead  in  her 
talk  to  her  next  neighbour,  and  falter,  and  drop  her 
eyes,  and  raise  them  again  after  a  minute  in  search  of 
his,  that  he  might  repeat  the  pleasant  question.  And 
then  what  could  she  do  but  answer  with  all  her  face, 
and  every  bend  of  her  pretty  neck,  "  And  do  you  for- 
give me  in  turni" 

Whereon  Don  Guzman  broke  out  jubilant,  like 
nightingale  on  bough,  with  story,  and  jest,  and 
repartee  ;  and  became  forthwith  the  soul  of  the  whole 
company,  and  the  most  charming  of  all  cavaliers.  And 
poor  Rose  knew  that  she  was  the  cause  of  his  sudden 
change  of  mood,  and  blamed  herself  for  what  she  had 
done,  and  shuddered  and  blushed  at  her  own  dehght, 
and  longed  that  the  feast  was  over,  that  she  might  hurry 
home  and  hide  herself  alone  with  sweet  fancies  about 
a  love  the  reality  of  which  she  felt  she  dared  not  face. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  the  great  terrace  at  Annery 
that  afternoon  ;  with  the  smart  dames  in  their  gaudy 
dresses  parading  up  and  down  in  twos  and  threes 
before  the  stately  house ;  or  looking  down  upon  the 
park,  with  the  old  oaks,  and  the  deer,  and  the  broad 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  383 

land-locked  river  spread  out  like  a  lake  beneath,  all 
bright  in  the  glare  of  the  midsummer  sun ;  or  listen- 
ing obsequiously  to  the  two  great  ladies  who  did  the 
honours,  Mrs.  St.  Leger  the  hostess,  and  her  sister-in- 
law,  fair  Lady  Grenvile.  All  chatted,  and  laughed, 
and  eyed  each  other's  dresses,  and  gossiped  about  each 
other's  husbands  and  servants :  only  Eose  Salteme 
kept  apart,  and  longed  to  get  into  a  corner  and  laugh 
or  cry,  she  knew  not  which. 

"  Our  pretty  Rose  seems  sad,"  said  Lady  Grenvile, 
coming  up  to  her.  "  Cheer  up,  child !  we  want  you  to 
come  and  sing  to  us." 

Rose  answered  she  knew  not  what,  and  obeyed 
mechanically. 

She  took  the  lute,  and  sat  down  on  a  bench  beneath 
the  house,  while  the  rest  grouped  themselves  round  her. 

"What  shall  I  sing?" 

"Let  us  have  your  old  song,  *Earl  Haldan's 
Daughter.'" 

Rose  shrank  from  it.  It  was  a  loud  and  dashing 
ballad,  which  chimed  in  but  little  with  her  thoughts ; 
and  Frank  had  praised  it  too,  in  happier  days  long 
since  gone  by.  She  thought  of  him,  and  of  others,  and 
of  her  pride  and  carelessness ;  and  the  song  seemed 
ominous  to  her :  and  yet  for  that  very  reason  she  dared 
not  refuse  to  sing  it,  for  fear  of  suspicion  where  no  one 
suspected ;  and  so  she  began  per  force — 

1. 
' '  It  was  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 
She  look'd  across  the  sea  ; 
She  look'd  across  the  water ; 
And  long  and  loud  laugh'd  she ; 


384  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

'  The  locks  of  six  princesses 
Must  be  my  marriage-fee, 
So  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat ! 
Who  comes  a  wooing  me  ? ' 

2. 
"  It  was  Eari  Haldan's  daughter, 

She  walk'd  along  the  sand  ; 

When  she  was  aware  of  a  knight  so  fair, 

Come  sailing  to  the  land. 

His  sails  were  all  of  velvet, 

His  mast  of  beaten  gold. 
And  *  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat, 

Who  saileth  here  so  bold  ? ' 

3. 

•'  *  The  locks  of  five  princesses 

I  won  beyond  the  sea  ; 

I  shore  their  golden  tresses, 

To  fringe  a  cloak  for  thee. 

One  handful  yet  is  wanting, 

But  one  of  all  the  tale  ; 
So  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat ! 

Furl  up  thy  velvet  sail !' 

4. 

**  He  leapt  into  the  water. 

That  rover  young  and  bold  ; 

He  gript  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 

He  shore  her  locks  of  gold  ; 

'  Go  weep,  go  weep,  proud  maiden, 

The  tale  is  full  to-day. 
Now  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat ! 

Sail  Westward  ho,  and  away  !'" 

As  she  ceased,  a  measured  voice,  with  a  foreign 
accent,  thrilled  through  her. 

"  In  the  East,  they  say  the  nightingale  sings  to  the 
rose ;  Devon,  more  happy,  has  nightingale  and  rose 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  385 

"  We  have  no  nightingales  in  Devon,  Don  Guzman," 
said  Lady  Grenvile ;  "but  our  little  forest  thrushes  sing, 
as  you  hear,  sweetly  enough  to  content  any  ear.  But 
what  brings  you  away  from  the  gentlemen  so  early  1" 

"These  letters,"  said  he,  which  have  been  just  put 
into  my  hand  ;  "  and  as  they  call  me  home  to  Spain,  I 
was  loth  to  lose  a  moment  of  that  delightful  company 
from  which  I  must  part  so  soon." 

"To  Spain?"  asked  half-a-dozen  voices:  for  the 
Don  was  a  general  favourite. 

"  Yes,  and  thence  to  the  Indies.  My  ransom  has 
arrived,  and  with  it  the  promise  of  an  office.  I  am  to 
be  Governor  of  La  Guayra  in  Caraccas.  Congratulate 
me  on  my  promotion." 

A  mist  was  over  Rose's  eyes.  The  Spaniard's  voice 
was  hard  and  flippant.  Did  he  care  for  her  after  all  ? 
And  if  he  did,  was  it  nevertheless  hopeless?  How 
her  cheeks  glowed  !  Everybody  must  see  it !  Any- 
thing to  turn  away  their  attention  from  her,  and  in 
that  nervous  haste  which  makes  people  speak,  and 
speak  foolishly  too,  just  because  they  ought  to  be 
silent,  she  asked, — 

"And  where  is  La  Guayra?" 

"  Half  round  the  world,  on  the  coast  of  the  Spanish 
main.  The  loveliest  place  on  earth,  and  the  loveliest 
governor's  house,  in  a  forest  of  palms  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  eight  thousand  feet  high  :  I  shall  only  want 
a  wife  there  to  be  in  paradise." 

"  I  don't  doubt  that  you  may  persuade  some  fair 
lady  of  Seville  to  accompany  you  thither,"  said  Lady 
Grenvile  - 

VOL.  I.  2  c  w.  H. 


386  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

"  Thanks,  gracious  Madam :  but  the  truth  is,  that 
since  I  have  had  the  bHss  of  knowing  English  ladies, 
I  have  begun  to  think  that  they  are  the  only  ones  on 
earth  worth  wooing." 

"A  thousand  thanks  for  the  compliment;  but  I 
fear  none  of  our  free  English  maidens  would  like  to 
submit  to  the  guardianship  of  a  duenna.  Eh,  Eose  1 
how  should  you  like  to  be  kept  under  lock  and  key  all 
day  by  an  ugly  old  woman  with  a  horn  on  her  fore- 
head 1" 

Poor  Eose  turned  so  scarlet  that  Lady  Grenvile 
knew  her  secret  on  the  spot,  and  would  have  tried  to 
turn  the  conversation :  but  before  she  could  speak, 
some  burgher's  wife  blundered  out  a  commonplace 
about  the  jealousy  of  Spanish  husbands ;  and  another, 
to  make  matters  better,  giggled  out  something  more 
true  then  delicate  about  West  Indian  masters  and  fair 
slaves. 

"Ladies,"  said  Don  Guzman,  reddening,  "believe 
me  that  these  are  but  the  calumnies  of  ignorance.  If 
we  be  more  jealous  than  other  nations,  it  is  because 
we  love  more  passionately.  If  some  of  us  abroad  are 
profligate,  it  is  because  they,  poor  men,  have  no  help- 
mate, which,  like  the  amethyst,  keeps  its  wearer  pure. 
I  could  tell  you  stories,  ladies,  of  the  constancy  and 
devotion  of  Spanish  husbands,  even  in  the  Indies,  as 
strange  as  ever  romancer  invented." 

"  Can  you  1  Then  we  challenge  you  to  give  us  one 
at  least." 

"I  fear  it  would  be  too  long.  Madam." 

"  The  longer  the  more  pleasant,  Seiior.     How  can 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.        387 

we  spend  an  hour  better  this  afternoon,  while  the 
gentlemen  within  are  finishing  their  winef 

Story-telling,  in  those  old  times,  when  books  (and 
authors  also,  lucky  for  the  public)  were  rarer  than 
now,  was  a  common  amusement;  and  as  the  Spaniard's 
accomplishments  in  that  line  were  well  known,  all 
the  ladies  crowded  round  him ;  the  servants  brought 
chairs  and  benches;  and  Don  Guzman,  taking  his 
seat  in  the  midst,  with  a  proud  humility,  at  Lady 
Grenvile's  feet,  began. 

"  Your  perfections,  fair  and  illustrious  ladies,  must 
doubtless  have  heard,  ere  now,  how  Sebastian  Cabota, 
some  forty-five  years  ago,  sailed  forth  with  a  commis- 
sion from  my  late  master,  the  Emperor  Charles  the 
Fifth,  to  discover  the  golden  lands  of  Tarshish,  Ophir, 
and  Cipango ;  but  being  in  want  of  provisions,  stopped 
short  at  the  mouth  of  that  mighty  South  American 
river  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Eio  de  la  Plata, 
and  sailing  up  it,  discovered  the  fair  land  of  Paraguay. 
But  you  may  not  have  heard  how,  on  the  bank  of 
that  river,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eio  Terceiro,  he  built 
a  fort  which  men  still  call  Cabot's  Tower ;  nor  have 
you,  perhaps,  heard  of  the  strange  tale  which  will 
ever  make  the  tower  a  sacred  spot  to  all  true  lovers. 

"For  when  he  returned  to  Spain  the  year  after, 
he  left  in  his  tower  a  garrison  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  under  the  command  of  Nuiio  de  Lara, 
Ruiz  Moschera,  and  Sebastian  da  Hurtado,  old  friends 
and  fellow-soldiers  of  my  invincible  grandfather  Don 
Ferdinando  da  Soto;  and  with  them  a  jewel,  than 
which   Spain   never   possessed    one   more    precious, 


388  HOW  BIDEFORD  BEIDGE 

Lucia  Miranda,  the  wife  of  Hurtado,  who,  famed  in 
the  Court  of  the  Emperor  no  less  for  her  wisdom  and 
modesty  than  for  her  unrivalled  beauty,  had  thrown 
up  all  the  pomp  and  ambition  of  a  palace,  to  marry  a 
poor  adventurer,  and  to  encounter  with  him  the  hard- 
ships of  a  voyage  round  the  world.  Mangora,  the 
Cacique  of  the  neighbouring  Timbuez  Indians  (with 
whom  Lara  had  contrived  to  establish  a  friendship), 
cast  his  eyes  on  this  fair  creature,  and  no  sooner  saw 
than  he  coveted ;  no  sooner  coveted  than  he  plotted, 
Avith  the  devilish  subtilty  of  a  savage,  to  seize  by 
force  what  he  knew  he  could  never  gain  by  right. 
She  soon  found  out  his  passion  (she  was  wise  enough 
— what  every  woman  is  not — to  know  when  she  is 
loved),  and  telling  her  husband,  kept  as  much  as  she 
could  out  of  her  new  lover's  sight ;  while  the  savage 
pressed  Hurtado  to  come  and  visit  him,  and  to  bring 
his  lady  with  him.  Hurtado,  suspecting  the  snare, 
and  yet  fearing  to  offend  the  Cacique,  excused  him- 
self courteously  on  the  score  of  his  soldier's  duty; 
and  the  savage,  mad  with  desire  and  disappointment, 
began  plotting  against  Hurtado's  life. 

"  So  went  on  several  weeks,  till  food  grew  scarce, 
and  Don  Hurtado  and  Don  Euiz  Moschera,  with  fifty 
soldiers,  were  sent  up  the  river  on  a  foraging  party. 
Mangora  saw  his  opportunity,  and  leapt  at  it  forth- 
with. 

"  The  tower,  ladies,  as  I  have  heard  from  those  who 
have  seen  it,  stands  on  a  knoll  at  the  meeting  of  the 
two  rivers,  while  on  the  land  side  stretches  a  dreary 
marsh,  covered  with  tall  grass  and  bushes ;  a  fit  place 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  389 

for  the  ambuscade  of  four  thousand  Indians,  which 
Mangora,  with  devilish  cunning,  placed  around  the 
tower,  while  he  himself  went  boldly  up  to  it,  followed 
by  thirty  men,  laden  with  grain,  fruit,  game,  and  all 
the  delicacies  which  his  forests  could  afford. 

"There,  with  a  smiling  face,  he  told  the  unsus- 
pecting Lara  his  sorrow  for  the  Spaniard's  want  of 
food;  besought  him  to  accept  the  provision  he  had 
brought,  and  was,  as  he  had  expected,  invited  by 
Lara  to  come  in  and  taste  the  wines  of  Spain. 

"  In  went  he  and  his  thirty  fellow-bandits,  and  the 
feast  continued,  with  songs  and  libations,  far  into  the 
night,  while  Mangora  often  looked  round,  and  at  last 
boldly  asked  for  the  fair  Miranda :  but  she  had  shut 
herself  into  her  lodging,  pleading  illness. 

"  A  plea,  fair  ladies,  which  little  availed  that  hap- 
less dame :  for  no  sooner  had  the  Spaniards  retired 
to  rest,  leaving  (by  I  know  not  what  madness)  Man- 
gora and  his  Indians  within,  than  they  were  awakened 
by  the  cry  of  fire,  the  explosion  of  their  magazine, 
and  the  inward  rush  of  the  four  thousand  from  the 
marsh  outside. 

"Why  pain  your  gentle  ears  with  details  of 
slaughter  ?  A  few  fearful  minutes  sufficed  to  exter- 
minate my  bewildered  and  unarmed  countrymen,  to 
bind  the  only  survivors,  Miranda  (innocent  cause  of 
the  whole  tragedy)  and  four  other  women  with  their 
infants,  and  to  lead  them  away  in  triumph  across  the 
forest  towards  the  Indian  town. 

"Stunned  by  the  suddenness  of  the  evils  which 
had  passed,  and  still  more  by  the  thought  of  those 


390  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

worse  which  were  to  come  (as  she  too  well  foresaw), 
Miranda  travelled  all  night  through  the  forest,  and 
was  brought  in  triumph  at  day-dawn  before  the  Indian 
king  to  receive  her  doom.  Judge  of  her  astonish- 
ment, when,  on  looking  up,  she  saw  that  he  was  not 
Mangora. 

"A  ray  of  hope  flashed  across  her,  and  she  asked 
where  he  was. 

"  '  He  was  slain  last  night,'  said  the  king ;  '  and  I, 
his  brother  Siripa,  am  now  Cacique  of  the  Timbuez.' 

"It  was  true;  Lara,  maddened  with  drink,  rage, 
and  wounds,  had  caught  up  his  sword,  rushed  into 
the  thick  of  the  fight,  singled  out  the  traitor,  and 
slain  him  on  the  spot ;  and  then,  forgetting  safety  in 
revenge,  had  continued  to  plunge  his  sword  into  the 
corpse,  heedless  of  the  blows  of  the  savages,  till  he 
fell  pierced  with  a  hundred  wounds. 

"A  ray  of  hope,  as  I  said,  flashed  across  the 
wretched  Miranda  for  a  moment;  but  the  next  she 
found  that  she  had  been  freed  from  one  bandit  only 
to  be  delivered  to  another. 

" '  Yes,'  said  the  new  king  in  broken  Spanish ; 
'  my  brother  played  a  bold  stake,  and  lost  it ;  but  it 
was  well  worth  the  risk,  and  he  showed  his  wisdom 
thereby.  You  cannot  be  his  queen  now :  you  must 
content  yourself  with  being  mine.' 

"Miranda,  desperate,  answered  him  with  every 
fierce  taunt  which  she  could  invent  against  his  trea- 
chery and  his  crime ;  and  asked  him,  how  he  came  to 
dream  that  the  wife  of  a  Christian  Spaniard  would 
condescend    to  become   the   mistress   of  a  heathen 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  391 

savage;  hoping,  unhappy  lady,  to  exasperate  him 
into  killing  her  on  the  spot.  But  in  vain ;  she  only 
prolonged  thereby  her  own  misery.  For,  whether  it 
was,  ladies,  that  the  novel  sight  of  divine  virtue  and 
beauty  awed  (as  it  may  have  awed  me  ere  now),  where 
it  had  just  before  maddened  ;  or  whether  some  dream 
crossed  the  savage  (as  it  may  have  crossed  me  ere 
now),  that  he  could  make  the  wisdom  of  a  mortal 
angel  help  his  ambition,  as  well  as  her  beauty  his 
happiness ;  or  whether  (which  I  will  never  believe  of 
one  of  those  dark  children  of  the  devil,  though  I  can 
boldly  assert  it  of  myself)  some  spark  of  boldness 
within  him  made  him  too  proud  to  take  by  force 
what  he  could  not  win  by  persuasion,  certain  it  is,  as 
the  Indians  themselves  confessed  afterwards,  that  the 
savage  only  answered  her  by  smiles ;  and  bidding  his 
men  unbind  her,  told  her  that  she  was  no  slave  of  his, 
and  that  it  only  lay  with  her  to  become  the  sovereign 
of  him  and  all  his  vassals ;  assigned  her  a  hut  to  her- 
self, loaded  her  with  savage  ornaments,  and  for  several 
weeks  treated  her  with  no  less  courtesy  (so  miraculous 
is  the  power  of  love)  than  if  he  had  been  a  cavalier  of 
Castile. 

"Three  months  and  more,  ladies,  as  I  have  heard, 
passed  in  this  misery,  and  every  day  Miranda  grew 
more  desperate  of  all  deliverance,  and  saw  staring  her 
in  the  face,  nearer  and  nearer,  some  hideous  and 
shameful  end;  when  one  day  going  down  with  the 
wives  of  the  Cacique  to  draw  water  in  the  river,  she 
saw  on  the  opposite  bank  a  white  man  in  a  tattered 
Spanish  dress,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand ;  who 


392  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

had  no  sooner  espied  her,  than  shrieking  her  name,  he 
plunged  into  the  stream,  swam  across,  landed  at  her 
feet,  and  clasped  her  in  his  arms.  It  was  no  other, 
ladies,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  than  Don  Sebastian 
himself,  who  had  returned  with  Ruiz  Moschera  to  the 
tower,  and  found  it  only  a  charred  and  bloodstained 
heap  of  ruins. 

*'  He  guessed,  as  by  inspiration,  what  had  passed, 
and  whither  his  lady  was  gone;  and  without  a  thought 
of  danger,  like  a  true  Spanish  gentleman,  and  a  true 
Spanish  lover,  darted  off  alone  into  the  forest,  and 
guided  only  by  the  inspiration  of  his  own  loyal  heart, 
found  again  his  treasure,  and  found  it  still  unstained 
and  his  own. 

"Who  can  describe  the  joy,  and  who  again  the 
terror,  of  their  meeting  "J  The  Indian  women  had 
fled  in  fear,  and  for  the  short  ten  minutes  that  the 
lovers  were  left  together,  life,  to  be  sure,  was  one  long 
kiss.  But  what  to  do  they  knew  not.  To  go  inland 
was  to  rush  into  the  enemy's  arms.  He  would  have 
swum  with  her  across  the  river,  and  attempted  it; 
but  his  strength,  worn  out  with  hunger  and  travel, 
failed  him;  he  drew  her  with  difficulty  on  shore 
again,  and  sat  down  by  her  to  await  their  doom  with 
prayer,  the  first  and  last  resource  of  virtuous  ladies, 
as  weapons  are  of  cavaliers. 

"  Alas  for  them !  May  no  true  lovers  ever  have 
to  weep  over  joys  so  soon  lost,  after  having  been  so 
hardly  found !  For,  ere  a  quarter  of  an  hour  was 
passed,  the  Indian  women,  who  had  fled  at  his  ap- 
proach, returned  with  all  the  warriors  of  the  tribe. 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  393 

Don  Sebastian,  desperate,  would  fain  have  slain  his 
wife  and  himself  on  the  spot;  but  his  hand  sank 
again — and  whose  would  not  but  an  Indian's  1 — as  he 
raised  it  against  that  fair  and  faithful  breast;  in  a 
few  minutes  he  was  surrounded,  seized  from  behind, 
disarmed,  and  carried  in  triumph  into  the  village.  And 
if  you  cannot  feel  for  him  in  that  misery,  fair  ladies, 
who  have  known  no  sorrow,  yet  I,  a  prisoner,  can." 

Don  Guzman  paused  a  moment,  as  if  overcome  by 
emotion;  and  I  will  not  say  that,  as  he  paused,  he 
did  not  look  to  see  if  Rose  Salterne's  eyes  were  on 
him,  as  indeed  they  were. 

"  Yes,  I  can  feel  with  him ;  I  can  estimate,  better 
than  you,  ladies,  the  greatness  of  that  love  which 
could  submit  to  captivity ;  to  the  loss  of  his  sword ; 
to  the  loss  of  that  honour,  which,  next  to  God  and 
his  mother,  is  the  true  Spaniard's  deity.  There  are 
those  who  have  suffered  that  shame  at  the  hands  of 
valiant  gentlemen  "  (and  again  Don  Guzman  looked 
up  at  Rose),  "and  yet  would  have  sooner  died  a  thou- 
sand deaths;  but  he  dared  to  endure  it  from  the 
hands  of  villains,  savages,  heathens;  for  he  was  a 
true  Spaniard,  and  therefore  a  true  lover :  but  I  will 
go  on  with  my  tale. 

"This  wretched  pair,  then,  as  I  have  been  told 
by  Ruiz  Moschera  himself,  stood  together  before  the 
Cacique.  He,  like  a  true  child  of  the  devil,  compre- 
hending in  a  moment  who  Don  Sebastian  was,  laughed 
with  delight  at  seeing  his  rival  in  his  power,  and 
bade  bind  him  at  once  to  a  tree,  and  shoot  him  to 
death  with  arrows. 


394  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

"But  the  poor  Miranda  sprang  forward,  and  threw 
herself  at  his  feet,  and  with  piteous  entreaties  besought 
for  mercy  from  him  who  knew  no  mercy. 

"  And  yet  love,  and  the  sight  of  her  beauty,  and 
the  terrible  eloquence  of  her  words,  while  she  invoked 
on  his  head  the  just  vengeance  of  Heaven,  wrought 
even  on  his  heart :  nevertheless  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
her,  who  had  so  long  scorned  him,  a  suppliant  at  his 
feet,  was  too  delicate  to  be  speedily  foregone;  and 
not  till  she  was  all  but  blind  with  tears,  and  dumb 
with  agony  of  pleading,  did  he  make  answer,  that  if 
she  would  consent  to  become  his  wife,  her  husband's 
life  should  be  spared.  She,  in  her  haste  and  madness, 
sobbed  out  desperately  I  know  not  what  consent. 
Don  Sebastian,  who  understood,  if  not  the  language, 
still  the  meaning  (so  had  love  quickened  his  under- 
standing), shrieked  to  her  not  to  lose  her  precious 
soul  for  the  sake  of  his  worthless  body ;  that  death 
was  nothing  compared  to  the  horror  of  that  shame ; 
and  such  other  words  as  became  a  noble  and  valiant 
gentleman.  She,  shuddering  now  at  her  own  frailty, 
would  have  recalled  her  promise ;  but  Siripa  kept  her 
to  it,  vowing,  if  she  disappointed  him  again,  such  a 
death  to  her  husband  as  made  her  blood  run  cold  to 
hear  of ;  and  the  wretched  woman  could  only  escape 
for  the  present  by  some  story,  that  it  was  not  the 
custom  of  her  race  to  celebrate  nuptials  till  a  month 
after  the  betrothment;  that  the  anger  of  Heaven 
would  be  on  her,  unless  she  first  performed  in  solitude 
certain  religious  rites  ;  and  lastly,  that  if  he  dared  to 
lay  hands  on  her  husband,  she  would  die  so  resolutely. 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  395 

that  every  drop  of  water  should  be  deep  enough  to 
drown  her,  every  thorn  sharp  enough  to  stab  her  to 
the  heart,  till  fearing  lest  by  demanding  too  much 
he  should  lose  all,  and  awed  too,  as  he  had  been  at 
first,  by  a  voice  and  looks  which  seemed  to  be,  in 
comparison  with  his  o^vn,  divine,  Siripa  bade  her  go 
back  to  her  hut,  promising  her  husband  life ;  but  pro- 
mising too,  that  if  he  ever  found  the  two  speaking 
together,  even  for  a  moment,  he  would  pour  out  on 
them  both  all  the  cruelty  of  those  tortures  in  which 
the  devil,  their  father,  has  so  perfectly  instructed  the 
Indians. 

"  So  Don  Sebastian,  being  stripped  of  his  garments, 
and  painted  after  the  Indian  fashion,  was  set  to  all 
mean  and  toilsome  work,  amid  the  buffetings  and 
insults  of  the  whole  village.  And  this,  ladies,  he 
endured  without  a  murmur,  ay,  took  delight  in  en- 
during it,  as  he  would  have  endured  things  worse  a 
thousand  times,  only  for  the  sake,  like  a  true  lover  as 
he  was,  of  being  near  the  goddess  whom  he  worshipped, 
and  of  seeing  her  now  and  then  afar  off,  happy  enough 
to  be  repaid  even  by  that  for  all  indignities. 

"And  yet,  you  who  have  loved  may  well  guess,  as 
I  can,  that  ere  a  week  had  passed,  Don  Sebastian  and 
the  Lady  Miranda  had  found  means,  in  spite  of  all 
spiteful  eyes,  to  speak  to  each  other  once  and  again ; 
and  to  assure  each  other  of  their  love ;  even  to  talk  of 
escape,  before  the  month's  grace  should  be  expired. 
And  Miranda,  whose  heart  was  full  of  courage  as  long 
as  she  felt  her  husband  near  her,  went  so  far  as  to  plan 
a  means  of  escape  which  seemed  possible  and  hopeful 


396  HOW  BIDEFOED  BRIDGE 

"  For  the  youngest  wife  of  the  Cacique,  who,  till 
Miranda's  coming,  had  been  his  favourite,  often  talked 
with  the  captive,  insulting  and  tormenting  her  in  her 
spite  and  jealousy,  and  receiving  in  return  only  gentle 
and  conciliatory  words.  And  one  day,  when  the 
woman  had  been  threatening  to  kill  her,  Miranda 
took  courage  to  say,  *  Do  you  fancy  that  I  shall  not  be 
as  glad  to  be  rid  of  your  husband,  as  you  to  be  rid  of 
mel  Why  kill  me  needlessly,  when  all  that  you 
require  is  to  get  me  forth  of  the  place  ?  Out  of  sight 
out  of  mind.  When  I  am  gone,  your  husband  will 
soon  forget  me,  and  you  will  be  his  favourite  as  be- 
fore.' Soon,  seeing  that  the  girl  was  inclined  to 
listen,  she  went  on  to  tell  her  of  her  love  to  Don 
Sebastian,  entreating  and  abjuring  her,  by  the  love 
which  she  bore  the  Cacique,  to  pity  and  help  her; 
and  so  won  upon  the  girl,  that  she  consented  to  be 
privy  to  Miranda's  escape,  and  even  offered  to  give 
her  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to  her  husband  about 
it ;  and  at  last  was  so  won  over  by  Miranda,  that  she 
consented  to  keep  all  intruders  out  of  the  way,  while 
Don  Sebastian  that  very  night  visited  Miranda  in  her 
hut 

"  The  hapless  husband,  thirsting  for  his  love,  was 
in  that  hut,  be  sure,  the  moment  that  kind  darkness 
covered  his  steps ; — and  what  cheer  these  two  made 
of  each  other,  when  they  once  found  themselves  to- 
gether, lovers  must  fancy  for  themselves :  but  so  it 
was,  that  after  many  a  leave-taking,  there  was  no  de- 
parture ;  and  when  the  night  was  well-nigh  past, 
Sebastian  and  Miranda  were  still  talking  together,  as 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  397 

if  they  had  never  met  before,  and  would  never  meet 
again. 

"  But  it  befell,  ladies  (would  that  I  was  not  speak- 
ing truth,  but  inventing,  that  I  might  have  invented 
something  merrier  for  your  ears),  it  befell  that  very 
night,  that  the  young  wife  of  the  Cacique,  whose 
heart  was  lifted  up  with  the  thought  that  her  rival 
was  now  at  last  dis2)osed  of,  tried  all  her  wiles  to  win 
back  her  faithless  husband;  but  in  vain.  He  only 
answered  her  caresses  by  indifference,  then  by  con- 
tempt, then  insults,  then  blows  (for  with  the  Indians, 
woman  is  always  a  slave,  or  rather  a  beast  of  burden), 
and  went  on  to  draw  such  cruel  comparisons  between 
her  dark  skin  and  the  glorious  fairness  of  the  Spanish 
lady,  that  the  wretched  girl,  beside  herself  with  rage, 
burst  out  at  last  with  her  own  secret.  'Fool  that 
you  are  to  madden  yourself  about  ■  a  stranger  who 
prizes  one  hair  of  her  Spanish  husband's  head  more 
than  your  whole  body  !  Much  does  your  new  bride 
care  for  you  !  She  is  at  this  moment  in  her  husband's 
arms !' 

"  The  Cacique  screamed  furiously  to  know  what 
she  meant;  and  she,  her  jealousy  and  hate  of  the 
guiltless  lady  boiling  over  once  for  all,  bade  him,  if  he 
doubted  her,  go  see  for  himself. 

"What  use  of  many  words'?  They  were  taken. 
Love,  or  rather  lust,  repelled,  turned  in  a  moment 
into  devilish  hate ;  and  the  Cacique,  summoning  his 
Indians,  bade  them  bind  the  wretched  Don  Sebastian 
to  a  tree,  and  there  inflicted  on  him  the  lingering 
death  to  which  he  had  at  first  been  doomed.     For 


398  HOW  BIDEFOED  BRIDGE 

Miranda  he  had  more  exquisite  cruelty  in  store.  And 
shall  I  tell  it?  Yes,  ladies,  for  the  honour  of  love 
and  of  Spain,  and  for  a  justification  of  those  cruelties 
against  the  Indians  which  are  so  falsely  imputed  to 
our  most  Christian  nation,  it  shall  be  told :  he  delivered 
the  wretched  lady  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his 
wives ;  and  what  they  were,  is  neither  fit  for  me  to 
tell,  nor  you  to  hear. 

"The  two  wretched  lovers  cast  themselves  upon 
each  other's  necks ;  drank  each  other's  salt  tears  with 
the  last  kisses;  accused  themselves  as  the  cause  of 
each  other's  death;  and  then,  rising  above  fear  and 
grief,  broke  out  into  triumph  at  thus  dying  for  and 
with  each  other;  and  proclaiming  themselves  the 
martyrs  of  love,  commended  their  souls  to  God,  and 
then  stepped  joyfully  and  proudly  to  their  doom." 

"And  what  was  that?"  asked  half-a-dozen  trem- 
bling voices. 

"  Don  Sebastian,  as  I  have  said,  was  shot  to  death 
with  arrows;  but  as  for  the  lady  Miranda,  the 
wretches  themselves  confessed  afterwards,  when  they 
received  due  vengeance  for  their  crimes  (as  they  did 
receive  it),  that  after  all  shameful  and  horrible  indig- 
nities, she  was  bound  to  a  tree,  and  there  burned 
slowly  in  her  husband's  sight,  stifling  her  shrieks  lest 
they  should  -wring  his  heart  by  one  additional  pang, 
and  never  taking  her  eyes,  to  the  last,  off  that  beloved 
face.  And  so  died  (but  not  unavenged)  Sebastian  de 
Hurtado  and  Lucia  Miranda, — a  Spanish  husband  and 
a  Spanish  wife." 

The  Don  paused,  and  the  ladies  were  silent  awhile  ^ 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  399 

for,  indeed,  there  was  many  a  gentle  tear  to  be  dried ; 
but  at  last  Mrs.  St.  Leger  spoke,  half,  it  seemed,  to 
turn  off  the  too  painful  impression  of  the  over-true 
tale,  the  outlines  whereof  may  be  still  read  in  old 
Charlevoix. 

"You  have  told  a  sad  and  a  noble  tale,  sir,  and 
told  it  well ;  but,  though  your  story  was  to  set  forth 
a  perfect  husband,  it  has  ended  rather  by  setting  forth 
a  perfect  wife." 

"  And  if  I  have  forgotten.  Madam,  in  praising  her 
to  praise  him  also,  have  I  not  done  that  which  would 
have  best  pleased  his  heroical  and  chivalrous  spirit  1 
He,  be  sure,  would  have  forgotten  his  own  virtue  in 
the  light  of  hers ;  and  he  would  have  wished  me,  I 
doubt  not,  to  do  the  same  also.  And  beside.  Madam, 
where  ladies  are  the  theme,  who  has  time  or  heart  to 
cast  one  thought  upon  their  slaves  f  And  the  Don 
made  one  of  his  deliberate  and  highly-finished  bows. 

"  Don  Guzman  is  courtier  enough,  as  far  as  compli- 
ments go,"  said  one  of  the  young  ladies ;  "but  it  was 
hardly  courtierlike  of  him  to  find  us  so  sad  an  enter- 
tainment, upon  a  merry  evening." 

"Yes,"  said  another;  "we  must  ask  him  for  no 
more  stories." 

"  Or  songs  either,"  said  a  third.  "  I  fear  he  knows 
none  but  about  forsaken  maidens  and  despairing 
lovers." 

"  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  forsaken  ladies, 
Madam;  because  ladies  are  never  forsaken  in  Spain." 

"Nor  about  lovers  despairing  there,  I  suppose*?" 

"That  good   opinion  of  ourselves,   Madam,  with 


400  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

which  you  English  are  pleased  to  twit  us  now  and 
then,  always  prevents  so  sad  a  state  of  mind.  For 
myself,  I  have  had  little  to  do  with  love ;  but  I  have 
had  still  less  to  do  with  despair,  and  intend,  by  help 
of  Heaven,  to  have  less." 

"You  are  valiant,  sir." 

"You  would  not  have  me  a  coward.  Madam?"  and 
so  forth. 

Now  all  this  time  Don  Guzman  had  been  talking  at 
Eose  Salterne,  and  giving  her  the  very  slightest  hint, 
every  now  and  then,  that  he  was  talking  at  her ;  till 
the  poor  girl's  face  was  almost  crimson  with  pleasure, 
and  she  gave  herself  up  to  the  spell.  He  loved  her 
still ;  perhaps  he  knew  that  she  loved  him :  he  must 
know  some  day.  She  felt  now  that  there  was  no 
escape ;  she  was  almost  glad  to  think  that  there  was 
none. 

The  dark,  handsome,  stately  face ;  the  melodious 
voice,  with  its  rich  Spanish  accent ;  the  quiet  grace  of 
the  gestures ;  the  wild  pathos  of  the  story ;  even  the 
measured  and  inflated  style,  as  of  one  speaking  of 
another  and  a  loftier  world ;  the  chivalrous  respect 
and  admiration  for  woman,  and  for  faithfulness  to 
woman — what  a  man  he  was  !  If  he  had  been  plea- 
sant heretofore,  he  was  now  enchanting.  All  the 
ladies  round  felt  that,  she  could  see,  as  much  as  she 
herself  did ;  no,  not  quite  as  much,  she  hoped.  She 
surely  understood  him,  and  felt  for  his  loneliness  more 
than  any  of  them.  Had  she  not  been  feeling  for  it 
through  long  and  sad  months  1  But  it  was  she  whom 
he  was  thinking  of,  she  whom  he  was  speaking  to,  all 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  401 

along.  Oh,  why  had  the  tale  ended  so  soon"?  She 
would  gladly  have  sat  and  wept  her  eyes  out  till  mid- 
night over  one  melodious  misery  after  another ;  but 
she  was  quite  wise  enough  to  keep  her  secret  to  her- 
self ;  and  sat  behind  the  rest,  with  greedy  eyes  and 
demure  lips,  full  of  strange  and  new  happiness — or 
misery ;  she  knew  not  which  to  call  it. 

In  the  meanwhile,  as  it  was  ordained,  Gary  could 
see  and  hear  through  the  window  of  the  hall  a  good 
deal  of  what  was  going  on. 

"How  that  Spanish  crocodile  ogles  the  Eose!" 
whispered  he  to  young  St.  Leger. 

"  What  wonder  1  He  is  not  the  first  by  many  a 
one." 

"Ay — but — By  heaven,  she  is  making  side-shots  at 
him  with  those  languishing  eyes  of  hers,  the  little 
baggage ! " 

"What  wonder?  He  is  not  the  first,  say  I,  and 
won't  be  the  last.     Pass  the  wine,  man." 

"I  have  had  enough;  between  sack  and  singing, 
my  head  is  as  mazed  as  a  dizzy  sheep.  Let  me  slip 
out." 

"  Not  yet,  man ;  remember  you  are  bound  for  one 
song  more." 

So  Gary,  against  his  will,  sat  and  sang  another 
song ;  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  party  had  broken  up, 
and  wandered  away  by  twos  and  threes,  among  trim 
gardens  and  pleasaunces,  and  clipped  yew-walks — 

**  Where  west-Avincls  with  musky  ydng 
About  the  cedam  alleys  fling 

Narn  and  cassia's  balmy  smells " 

VOL.  I.  2d  w.  h. 


402  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

admiring  the  beauty  of  that  stately  place,  long  since 
passed  into  other  hands,  and  fallen  to  decay  -,  but  then 
(if  old  Prince  speaks  true)  one  of  the  noblest  mansions 
of  the  west. 

At  last  Gary  got  away  and  out ;  sober,  but  just 
enough  flushed  with  wine  to  be  ready  for  any  quarrel ; 
and  luckily  for  him,  had  not  gone  twenty  yards  along 
the  great  terrace  before  he  met  Lady  Grenvile. 

"Has  your  Ladyship  seen  Don  Guzman V' 

"Yes — why,  where  is  he?  He  was  with  me  not 
ten  minutes  ago.  You  know  he  is  going  back  to 
Spain." 

"  Going !     Has  his  ransom  come  f 

"  Yes,  and  with  it  a  governorship  in  the  Indies." 

"Governorship*?  Much  good  may  it  do  the 
governed." 

"Why  not,  then*?  He  is  surely  a  most  gallant 
gentleman." 

"Gallant  enough — yes,"  said  Gary,  carelessly.  "I 
must  find  him,  and  congratulate  him  on  his  honours." 

"I  will  help  you  to  find  him,"  said  Lady  Grenvile, 
whose  woman's  eye  and  ear  had  already  suspected 
something.     "Escort  me,  sir." 

"  It  is  but  too  great  an  honour  to  squire  the  Queen 
of  Bideford,"  said  Gary,  offering  his  hand. 

"If  I  am  your  queen,  sir,  I  must  be  obeyed,"  an- 
swered she  in  a  meaning  tone.  Gary  took  the  hint, 
and  went  on  chattering  cheerfully  enough. 

But  Don  Guzman  was  not  to  be  found  in  garden 
or  in  pleasaunce. 

"Perhaps,"  at  last  said  a  burgher's  wife,  with  a 


DINED  AT  ANNEKY  HOUSE.  403 

toss  of  her  head,  "your  Ladyship  may  meet  with  him 
at  Hankford's  oak." 

"At  Hankford's  oak?  what  should  take  him  there f' 

"Pleasant  company,  I  reckon"  (with  another  toss). 
"  I  heard  him  and  Mistress  Salterne  talking  about  the 
oak  just  now." 

Gary  turned  pale  and  drew  in  his  breath. 

"Very  likely,"  said  Lady  Grenvile,  quietly.  "Will 
you  walk  with  me  so  far,  Mr.  Gary?" 

"To  the  world's  end,  if  your  Ladyship  condescends 
so  far."  And  off  they  went,  Lady  Grenvile  wishing 
that  they  were  going  anywhere  else,  but  afraid  to  let 
Gary  go  alone ;  and  suspecting,  too,  that  some  one  or 
other  ought  to  go. 

So  they  went  down  past  the  herds  of  deer,  by  a 
trim-kept  path  into  the  lonely  dell  where  stood  the 
fatal  oak ;  and,  as  they  went.  Lady  Grenvile,  to  avoid 
more  unpleasant  talk,  poured  into  Gary's  unheeding 
ears  the  story  (which  he  probably  had  heard  fifty 
times  before)  how  old  Chief-justice  Hankford  (whom 
some  contradictory  myths  make  the  man  who  com- 
mitted Prince  Henry  to  prison  for  striking  him  on  the 
bench),  weary  of  life  and  sickened  at  the  horrors  and 
desolations  of  the  wars  of  the  Roses,  went  down  to  his 
house  at  Annery  there,  and  bade  his  keeper  shoot  any 
man  who,  passing  through  the  deer-park  at  night, 
should  refuse  to  stand  when  challenged;  and  then 
going  down  into  that  glen  himself,  and  hiding  himself 
beneath  that  oak,  met  mllingly  by  his  keeper's  hand 
the  death  which  his  own  dared  not  inflict:  but  ere 
the  story  was  half  done,  Gary  grasped  Lady  Gren- 


404  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

vile's  hand  so  tightly  that  she  gave  a  little  shriek  of 
pain. 

"There  they  are  !"  whispered  he,  heedless  of  her; 
and  pointed  to  the  oak,  where,  half  hidden  by  the  tall 
fern,  stood  Eose  and  the  Spaniard. 

Her  head  was  on  his  bosom.  She  seemed  sobbing, 
trembling ;  he  talking  earnestly  and  passionately ;  but 
Lady  Grenvile's  little  shriek  made  them  both  look  up. 
To  turn  and  try  to  escape  was  to  confess  all ;  and  the 
two,  collecting  themselves  instantly,  walked  towards 
her.  Rose  wishing  herself  fathoms  deep  beneath  the 
earth. 

"Mind,  sir,"  whispered  Lady  Grenvile  as  they 
came  up;  "you  have  seen  nothing." 

"  Madam  f 

"If  you  are  not  on  my  ground,  you  are  on  my 
brother's.     Obey  me  ! " 

Gary  bit  his  lip,  and  bowed  courteously  to  the  Don. 

"I  have  to  congratulate  you,  I  hear,  Senor,  on 
your  approaching  departure." 

"  I  kiss  your  hands,  Seiior,  in  return :  but  I  ques- 
tion whether  it  be  a  matter  of  congratulation,  con- 
sidering all  that  I  leave  behind." 

"So  do  I,"  answered  Gary,  bluntly  enough,  and 
the  four  walked  back  to  the  house.  Lady  Grenvile 
taking  everything  for  granted  with  the  most  charming 
good  humour,  and  chatting  to  her  three  silent  com- 
panions till  they  gained  the  terrace  once  more,  and 
found  four  or  five  of  the  gentlemen,  with  Sir  Eichard 
at  their  head,  proceeding  to  the  bowling-green. 

Lady   Grenvile,  in   an  agony  of  fear  about  the 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  405 

quarrel  which  she  knew  must  come,  would  have  gladly 
whispered  five  words  to  her  husband :  but  she  dared 
not  do  it  before  the  Spaniard,  and  dreaded  too  a  faint 
or  a  scream  from  the  Eose,  whose  father  was  of  the 
party.  So  she  walked  on  with  her  fair  prisoner, 
commanding  Gary  to  escort  them  in,  and  the  Spaniard 
to  go  to  the  bowling-green. 

Gary  obeyed  :  but  he  gave  her  the  slip  the  moment 
she  was  inside  the  door,  and  then  darted  off  to  the 
gentlemen. 

His  heart  was  on  fire :  all  his  old  passion  for  the 
Rose  had  flashed  up  again  at  the  sight  of  her  with  a 
lover ; — and  that  lover  a  Spaniard  !  He  would  cut 
his  throat  for  him,  if  steel  could  do  it !  Only  he 
recollected  that  Salterne  was  there,  and  shrank  from 
exposing  Rose ;  and  shrank  too,  as  every  gentleman 
should,  from  making  a  public  quarrel  in  another  man's 
house.  Never  mind.  Where  there  was  a  will  there 
was  a  way.  He  could  get  him  into  a  corner,  and 
quarrel  with  him  privately  about  the  cut  of  his  beard, 
or  the  colour  of  his  ribbon.  So  in  he  went ;  and,  luckily 
or  unluckily,  found  standing  together  apart  from  the 
rest.  Sir  Richard,  the  Don,  and  young  St.  Leger. 

"Well,  Don  Guzman,  you  have  given  us  wine- 
bibbers  the  slip  this  afternoon.  I  hope  you  have 
been  well  employed  in  the  meanwhile?" 

"Delightfully  to  myself,  Seiior,"  said  the  Don, 
who,  enraged  at  being  interrupted,  if  not  discovered, 
was  as  ready  to  fight  as  Gary,  but  disliked  of  course 
an  explosion  as  much  as  he  did ;  "  and  to  others,  I 
doubt  not." 


406  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

"  So  the  ladies  say,"  quoth  St.  Leger.  "  He  has 
been  making  them  all  cry  with  one  of  his  stories,  and 
robbing  us  meanwhile  of  the  pleasure  we  had  hoped 
for  from  some  of  his  Spanish  songs." 

"The  devil  take  Spanish  songs!"  said  Gary,  in  a 
low  voice,  but  loud  enough  for  the  Spaniard.  Don 
Guzman  clapt  his  hand  on  his  sword-hilt  instantly. 

"Lieutenant  Gary,"  said  Sir  Eichard  in  a  stern 
voice;  "the  wine  has  surely  made  you  forget  your- 
self!" 

"As  sober  as  yourself,  most  worshipful  knight; 
but  if  you  want  a  Spanish  song,  here's  one;  and  a 
very  scurvy  one  it  is,  like  its  subject — 

*'  Don  Desperado 

"Walked  on  the  Prado, 
And  there  he  met  his  enemy. 

He  pulled  out  a  knife,  a, 

And  let  out  his  life,  a. 
And  fled  for  his  own  across  the  sea. " 

And  he  bowed  low  to  the  Spaniard. 

The  insult  was  too  gross  to  require  any  spluttering. 

"Senor  Gary,  we  meet?" 

"  I  thank  your  quick  apprehension,  Don  Guzman 
Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto.  When,  where, 
and  with  what  weapons?" 

"For  God's  sake,  gentlemen!  Nephew  Arthur, 
Gary  is  your  guest;  do  you  know  the  meaning  of 
this?" 

St.  Leger  was  silent.     Gary  answered  for  him. 

"  An  old  Irish  quarrel,  I  assure  you,  sir.  A  matter 
of  years'  standing.     In  unlacing  the  Senor's  helmet. 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  407 

the  evening  that  he  was  taken  prisoner,  I  was  unlucky 
enough  to  twitch  his  mustachios.  You  recollect  the 
fact,  of  course,  Seiiorl" 

"Perfectly,"  said  the  Spaniard;  and  then,  half- 
amused  and  half-pleased,  in  spite  of  his  bitter  wrath, 
at  Gary's  quickness  and  delicacy  in  shielding  Kose,  he 
bowed,  and 

"  And  it  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  find  that  he 
whom  I  trust  to  have  the  pleasure  of  killing  to-morrow 
morning,  is  a  gentleman  whose  nice  sense  of  honour 
renders  him  thoroughly  worthy  of  the  sword  of  a  De 
Soto." 

Gary  bowed  in  return,  while  Sir  Eichard,  who  saw 
plainly  enough  that  the  excuse  was  feigned,  shrugged 
his  shoulders. 

"What  weapons,  Senor'?"  asked  Will  again. 

"I  should  have  preferred  ahorse  and  pistols,"  said 
Don  Guzman  after  a  moment,  half  to  himself,  and  in 
Spanish;  "they  make  surer  work  of  it  than  bodkins;" 
but  (with  a  sigh  and  one  of  his  smiles)  "beggars  must 
not  be  choosers." 

"  The  best  horse  in  my  stable  is  at  your  service, 
Seiior,"  said  Sir  Richard  Grenvile  instantly. 

"And  in  mine  also,  Sefior,"  said  Gary;  "and  I 
shall  be  happy  to  allow  you  a  week  to  train  him,  if 
he  does  not  answer  at  first  to  a  Spanish  hand." 

"  You  forget  in  your  courtesy,  gentle  sir,  that  the 
insult  being  with  me,  the  time  lies  with  me  also. 
We  wipe  it  off  to-morrow  morning  with  simple  rapiers 
and  daggers.     Who  is  your  second  1" 

"Mr.  Arthur  St.  Legerhere,  Seiior:  who  is  yours?" 


408  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

The  Spaniard  felt  himself  alone  in  the  world  for 
one  moment ;  and  then  answered  with  another  of  his 
smiles, 

"Your  nation  possesses  the  soul  of  honour.  He 
who  fights  an  Englishman  needs  no  second." 

"And  he  who  fights  among  Englishmen  will 
always  find  one,"  said  Sir  Eichard.  "I  am  the 
fittest  second  for  my  guest." 

"You  only  add  one  more  obligation,  illustrious 
cavalier,  to  a  two-years'  prodigality  of  favours,  which 
I  shall  never  be  able  to  repay." 

"But,  Nephew  Arthur,"  said  Grenvile,  "you  can- 
not surely  be  second  against  your  father's  guest,  and 
your  own  uncle." 

"I  cannot  help  it,  sir ;  I  am  bound  by  an  oath,  as 
Will  can  tell  you.  I  suppose  you  won't  think  it 
necessary  to  let  me  blood  f 

"  You  half  deserve  it,  sirrah ! "  said  Sir  Richard, 
who  was  very  angry  :  but  the  Don  interposed  quickly. 

"  Heaven  forbid,  Seiiors  !  We  are  no  French 
duellists,  who  are  mad  enough  to  make  four  or  six 
lives  answer  for  the  sins  of  two.  This  gentleman  and 
I  have  quarrel  enough  between  us,  I  suspect,  to  make 
a  right  bloody  encounter." 

"  The  dependence  is  good  enough,  sir,"  said  Cary, 
licking  his  sinful  lips  at  the  thought.  "Very  well. 
Rapiers  and  shirts  at  three  to-morrow  morning — Is 
that  the  bill  of  fare  1  Ask  Sir  Richard  where,  Atty  ? 
It  is  against  punctilio  now  for  me  to  speak  to  him  till 
after  I  am  killed." 

"  On  the  sands  opposite.     The  tide  will  be  out  at 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  409 

three.     And  now,  gallant  gentlemen,  let  us  join  the 
bowlers." 

And  so  they  went  back  and  spent  a  merry  evening, 
all  except  poor  Rose,  who,  ere  she  went  back,  had 
poured  all  her  sorrows  into  Lady  Grenvile's  ear.  For 
the  kind  woman,  knowing  that  she  was  motherless 
and  guileless,  carried  her  off  into  Mrs.  St.  Leger's 
chamber,  and  there  entreated  her  to  tell  the  truth, 
and  heaped  her  with  pity,  but  with  no  comfort.  For, 
indeed,  what  comfort  was  there  to  give  1 

Three  o'clock,  upon  a  still  pure  bright  Midsummer 
morning.  A  broad  and  yellow  sheet  of  ribbed  tide- 
sands,  through  which  the  shallow  river  wanders  from 
one  hill -foot  to  the  other,  whispering  round  dark 
knolls  of  rock,  and  under  low  tree-fringed  cliiFs,  and 
banks  of  golden  broom.  A  mile  below,  the  long 
bridge  and  the  white  walled  town,  all  sleeping  pearly 
in  the  soft  haze,  beneath  a  cloudless  vault  of  blue. 
The  white  glare  of  dawn,  which  last  night  hung  high 
in  the  north-west,  has  travelled  now  to  the  north-east, 
and  above  the  wooded  wall  of  the  hills  the  sky  is 
flushing  with  rose  and  amber. 

A  long  line  of  gulls  goes  wailing  up  inland ;  the 
rooks  from  Annery  come  cawing  and  sporting  round 
the  corner  at  Land-cross,  while  high  above  them  four 
or  five  herons  flap  solemnly  along  to  find  their  break- 
fast on  the  shallows.  The  pheasants  and  partridges 
are  clucking  merrily  in  the  long  wet  grass ;  every 
copse  and  hedgerow  rings  with  the  voice  of  birds :  but 
the  lark,  who  has  been  singing  since  midnight  in  the 


410  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

"blank  height  of  the  dark,"  suddenly  hushes  his  carol 
and  drops  headlong  among  the  corn,  as  a  broad-winged 
buzzard  swings  from  some  wooded  peak  into  the  abyss 
of  the  valley,  and  hangs  high-poised  above  the  heaven- 
ward songster.  The  air  is  full  of  perfume;  sweet 
clover,  new  mown  hay,  the  fragrant  breath  of  kine, 
the  dainty  scent  of  sea-weed  wreaths  and  fresh  wet 
sand.  Glorious  day,  glorious  place,  "bridal  of  earth 
and  sky,"  decked  well  with  bridal  garlands,  bridal 
perfumes,  bridal  songs, — What  do  those  four  cloaked 
figures  there  by  the  river  brink,  a  dark  spot  on  the 
fair  face  of  the  summer  morn  1 

Yet  one  is  as  cheerful  as  if  he  too,  like  all  nature 
round  him,  were  going  to  a  wedding ;  and  that  is  Will 
Gary.  He  has  been  bathing  down  below,  to  cool  his 
brain  and  steady  his  hand ;  and  he  intends  to  stop 
Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto's 
wooing  for  ever  and  a  day.  The  Spaniard  is  in  a  very 
different  mood;  fierce  and  haggard,  he  is  pacing  up 
and  down  the  sand.  He  intends  to  kill  Will  Gary ; 
but  then  1  Will  he  be  the  nearer  to  Rose  by  doing 
so  ?  Gan  he  stay  in  Bideford  1  Will  she  go  with  him "? 
Shall  he  stoop  to  stain  his  family  by  marrying  a 
burgher's  daughter  1  It  is  a  confused,  all  but  desperate 
business;  and  Don  Guzman  is  certain  but  of  cne 
thing,  that  he  is  madly  in  love  with  this  fair  witch,  and 
that  if  she  refuse  him,  then,  rather  than  see  her  accept 
another  man,  he  would  kill  her  with  his  own  hands. 

Sir  Richard  Grenvile  too  is  in  no  very  pleasant 
humour,  as  St.  Leger  soon  discovers,  when  the  two 
seconds  begin  whispering  over  their  arrangements. 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  411 

"We  cannot  have  either  of  them  killed,  Arthur." 

"Mr.  Gary  swears  he  will  kill  the  Spaniard,  sir." 

"He  shan't.  The  Spaniard  is  my  guest.  I  am 
answerable  for  him  to  Leigh,  and  for  his  ransom 
too.  And  how  can  Leigh  accept  the  ransom  if  the 
man  is  not  given  up  safe  and  sounds  They  won't 
pay  for  a  dead  carcass,  boy !  The  man's  life  is  worth 
two  hundred  pounds." 

"A  very  bad  bargain,  sir,  for  those  who  pay  the 
said  two  hundred  for  the  rascal ;  but  what  if  he  kills 
Gary  ?" 

"Worse  still.  Gary  must  not  be  killed.  I  am 
very  angry  with  him,  but  he  is  too  good  a  lad  to  be 
lost ;  and  his  father  would  never  forgive  us.  We 
must  strike  up  their  swords  at  the  first  scratch." 

"  It  will  make  them  very  mad,  sir." 
"  Hang  them  !  let  them  fight  us  then,  if  they  don't 
like  our  counsel.     It  must  be,  Arthur." 

"Be  sure,  sir,"  said  Arthur,  "that  whatsoever  you 
shall  command,  I  shall  perform.  It  is  only  too  great 
an  honour  to  a  young  man  as  I  am,  to  find  myself  in 
the  same  duel  with  your  worship,  and  to  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  your  wisdom  and  experience." 

Sir  Eichard  smiles,  and  says — "  Now,  gentlemen  ! 
are  you  ready  f 

The  Spaniard  pulls  out  a  little  crucifix,  and  kisses 
it  devoutly,  smiting  on  his  breast ;  crosses  himself  two 
or  three  times,  and  says— "Most  willingly,  Senor." 

Gary  kisses  no  crucifix,  but  says  a  prayer  neverthe- 
less. 

Gloaks  and  doublets  are  tossed  off,  the  men  placed, 


412  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

the  rapiers  measured  hilt  and  point ;  Sir  Eichard  and 
St.  Leger  place  themselves  right  and  left  of  the  com- 
batants, facing  each  other,  the  points  of  their  drawn 
swords  on  the  sand.  Gary  and  the  Spaniard  stand 
for  a  moment  quite  upright,  their  sword-arms  stretched 
straight  before  them,  holding  the  long  rapier  horizon- 
tally, the  left  hand  clutching  the  dagger  close  to  their 
breasts.  So  they  stand  eye  to  eye,  with  clenched 
teeth  and  pale  crushed  lips,  while  men  might  count  a 
score;  St.  Leger  can  hear  the  beating  of  his  own 
heart ;  Sir  Richard  is  prapng  inwardly  that  no  life 
may  be  lost.  Suddenly  there  is  a  quick  turn  of  Gary's 
wrist,  and  a  leap  forward.  The*  Spaniard's  dagger 
flashes,  and  the  rapier  is  turned  aside ;  Gary  springs 
six  feet  back  as  the  Spaniard  rushes  on  him  in  turn. 
Parry,  thrust,  parry — the  steel  rattles,  the  sparks  fly, 
the  men  breathe  fierce  and  loud ;  the  devil's  game  is 
begun  in  earnest. 

Five  minutes  have  the  two  had  instant  death  a  short 
six  inches  off  from  those  wild  sinful  hearts  of  theirs, 
and  not  a  scratch  has  been  given.  Yes  !  the  Spaniard's 
rapier  passes  under  Gary's  left  arm ;  he  bleeds. 

"  A  hit !  a  hit !  Strike  up,  Atty ! "  and  the  swords 
are  struck  up  instantly. 

Gary,  nettled  by  the  smart,  tries  to  close  with  his 
foe,  but  the  seconds  cross  their  swords  before  him. 

"  It  is  enough,  gentlemen.  Don  Guzman's  honour 
is  satisfied ! " 

"  But  not  my  revenge,  Senor,"  says  the  Spaniard, 
with  a  frown.  "  This  duel  is  a  Voutrancey  on  my  part ; 
and,  I  believe,  on  Mr.  Gary's  also." 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  413 

"By  heaven  it  is  !"  says  Will,  trying  to  push  past. 
"  Let  me  go,  Arthur  St.  Leger ;  one  of  us  must  down. 
Let  me  go,  I  say  l" 

"If  you  stir,  Mr.  Gary,  you  have  to  do  with 
Richard  Grenvile ! "  thunders  the  lion  voice.  I  am 
angry  enough  with  you  for  having  brought  on  this  duel 
at  all.   Don't  provoke  me  still  further,  young  hot-head ! " 

Gary  stops  sulkily. 

"  You  do  not  know  all,  Sir  Richard,  or  you  would 
not  speak  in  this  way." 

"I  do,  sir,  all :  and  I  shall  have  the  honour  of 
talking  it  over  with  Don  Guzman  myself." 

"Hey?"  said  the  Spaniard.  "You  came  here  as 
my  second.  Sir  Richard,  as  I  understood :  but  not  as 
my  counsellor." 

"  Arthur,  take  your  man  away  !  Gary !  obey  me 
as  you  would  your  father,  sir !  Can  you  not  trust 
Richard  Grenvile  f 

"  Gome  away,  for  God's  sake  ! "  says  poor  Arthur, 
dragging  Gary's  sword  from  him ;  "Sir  Richard  must 
know  best!" 

So  Gary  is  led  off  sulking,  and  Sir  Richard  turns 
to  the  Spaniard, 

"  And  now,  Don  Guzman,  allow  me,  though  much 
against  my  will,  to  speak  to  you  as  a  friend  to  a  friend. 
You  will  pardon  me  if  I  say  that  I  cannot  but  have 
seen  last  night's  devotion  to " 

"You  will  be  pleased,  Senor,  not  to  mention  the 
name  of  any  lady  to  whom  I  may  have  shown  devotion. 
I  am  not  accustomed  to  have  my  little  affairs  talked 
over  by  any  unbidden  counsellors." 


414  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE 

"Well,  Senor,  if  you  take  offence,  you  take  that 
which  is  not  given.  Only  I  warn  you,  with  all 
apologies  for  any  seeming  forwardness,  that  the  quest 
on  which  you  seem  to  be,  is  one  on  which  you  will 
not  be  allowed  to  proceed." 

"And  who  will  stop  me?"  asked  the  Spaniard, 
with  a  fierce  oath. 

"You  are  not  aware,  illustrious  Seiior,"  said  Sir 
Richard,  parrying  the  question,  "that  our  English 
laity  look  upon  mixed  marriages  with  full  as  much 
dislike  as  your  own  ecclesiastics." 

"Marriage,  sir*?  Who  gave  you  leave  to  mention 
that  word  to  laeV 

Sir  Richard's  brow  darkened ;  the  Spaniard,  in  his 
insane  pride,  had  forced  upon  the  good  knight  a  sus- 
picion which  was  not  really  just. 

"Is  it  possible,  then,  Senor  Don  Guzman,  that  I 
am  to  have  the  shame  of  mentioning  a  baser  word?" 

"Mention  what  you  will,  sir.  All  words  are  the 
same  to  me ;  for,  just  or  unjust,  I  shall  answer  them 
alike  only  by  my  sword." 

"  You  will  do  no  such  thing,  sir.  You  forget  that 
I  am  your  host." 

"And  do  you  suppose  that  you  have  therefore  a 
right  to  insult  me  1    Stand  on  your  guard,  sir ! " 

Grenvile  answered  by  slapping  his  own  rapier 
home  into  the  sheath  with  a  quiet  smile. 

"  Senor  Don  Guzman  must  be  well  enough  aware 
of  who  Richard  Grenvile  is,  to  know  that  he  may 
claim  the  right  of  refusing  duel  to  any  man,  if  he 
shall  so  think  fit." 


DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE.  415 

"Sir!"  cried  the  Spaniard  with  an  oath,  "this  is 
too  much  !  Do  you  dare  to  hint  that  I  am  unworthy 
of  your  sword"?  Know,  insolent  Englishman,  I  am 
not  merely  a  De  Soto, — though  that,  by  St.  James, 
were  enough  for  you  or  any  man.     I  am  a  Sotomayor, 

a  Mendoza,  a  Bovadilla,  a  Losada,  a sir !  I  have 

blood  royal  in  my  veins,  and  you  dare  to  refuse  my 
challenge?" 

"Eichard  Grenvile  can  show  quarterings,  probably, 
against  even  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor 
de  Soto,  or  against  (with  no  offence  to  the  unquestioned 
nobility  of  your  pedigree)  the  bluest  blood  of  Spain. 
But  he  can  show,  moreover,  thank  God,  a  reputation 
which  raises  him  as  much  above  the  imputation  of 
cowardice,  as  it  does  above  that  of  discourtesy.  If 
you  think  fit,  Seiior,  to  forget  what  you  have  just,  in 
very  excusable  anger,  vented,  and  to  return  with  me, 
you  will  find  me  still,  as  ever,  your  most  faithful  ser- 
vant and  host.  If  otherwise,  you  have  only  to  name 
whither  you  wish  your  mails  to  be  sent,  and  I  shall, 
with  unfeigned  sorrow,  obey  your  commands  con- 
cerning them." 

The  Spaniard  bowed  stiffly,  answered,  "To  the 
nearest  tavern,  Senor,"  and  then  strode  away.  His 
baggage  was  sent  thither.  He  took  a  boat  down  to 
Appledore  that  very  afternoon,  and  vanished,  none 
knew  whither.  A  very  courteous  note  to  Lady  Gren- 
vile, enclosing  the  jewel  which  he  had  been  used  to 
wear  round  his  neck,  was  the  only  memorial  he  left 
behind  him :  except,  indeed,  the  scar  on  Gary's  arm, 
and  poor  Rose's  broken  heart. 


416  HOW  BIDEFORD  BRIDGE  DINED  AT  ANNERY  HOUSE. 

Now  county  towns  are  scandalous  places  at  best ; 
and  though  all  parties  tried  to  keep  the  duel  secret, 
yet,  of  course,  before  noon  all  Bideford  knew  what 
had  happened,  and  a  great  deal  more ;  and  what  was 
even  worse,  Rose,  in  an  agony  of  terror,  had  seen  Sir 
Richard  Grenvile  enter  her  father's  private  room, 
and  sit  there  closeted  with  him  for  an  hour  and  more ; 
and  when  he  went,  upstairs  came  old  Salterne,  with 
his  stick  in  his  hand,  and  after  rating  her  soundly  for 
far  worse  than  a  flirt,  gave  her  (I  am  sorry  to  have  to 
say  it,  but  such  was  the  mild  fashion  of  paternal  rule 
in  those  times,  even  over  such  daughters  as  Lady 
Jane  Grey,  if  Roger  Ascham  is  to  be  believed)  such  a 
beating  that  her  poor  sides  were  black  and  blue  for 
many  a  day ;  and  then  putting  her  on  a  pillion  behind 
him,  carried  her  off"  twenty  miles  to  her  old  prison  at 
Stow  Mill,  commanding  her  aunt  to  tame  do"v\Ti  her 
saucy  blood  with  bread  of  affliction  and  water  of  afflic- 
tion. Which  commands  were  willingly  enough  fulfilled 
by  the  old  dame,  who  had  always  borne  a  grudge 
against  Rose  for  being  rich  while  she  was  poor,  and 
pretty  while  her  daughter  was  plain ;  so  that  between 
flouts,  and  sneers,  and  watchings,  and  pretty  open 
hints  that  she  was  a  disgrace  to  her  family,  and  no 
better  than  she  should  be,  the  poor  innocent  child 
watered  her  couch  with  her  tears  for  a  fortnight  or 
more,  stretching  out  her  hands  to  the  wide  Atlantic, 
and  calling  wildly  to  Don  Guzman  to  return  and  take 
her  where  he  would,  and  she  would  live  for  him  and 
die  for  him ;  and  perhaps  she  did  not  call  in  vain. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND  CAME  HOME  AGAIN. 

* '  The  spirits  of  your  fathers 

Shall  start  from  every  wave  ; 
For  the  deck  it  was  their  field  of  fame, 
And  ocean  was  their  grave." 

Campbell. 

"So  you  see,  my  dear  Mrs.  Hawkins,  having  the 
silver,  as  your  own  eyes  show  you,  beside  the  ores  of 
lead,  manganese,  and  copper,  and  above  all  this  gossan 
(as  the  Cornish  call  it),  which  I  suspect  to  be  not 
merely  the  matrix  of  the  ore,  but  also  the  very  crude 
form  and  materia  prima  of  all  metals — you  mark  me  1 
— If  my  recipes,  which  I  had  from  Doctor  Dee,  succeed 
only  half  so  well  as  I  expect,  then  I  refine  out  the 
Luna,  the  silver,  lay  it  by,  and  transmute  the  remain- 
ing ores  into  Sol,  gold.  Whereupon  Peru  and  Mexico 
become  superfluities,  and  England  the  mistress  of  the 
globe.  Strange,  no  doubt;  distant,  no  doubt:  but 
possible,  my  dear  madam,  possible  ! " 

"  And  what  good  to  you  if  it  be,  Mr.  Gilbert  *?  If 
you  could  find  a  philosopher's  stone  to  turn  sinners 
into  saints,  now : — but  nought  save  God's  grace  can 
do  that:  and  that  last  seems  ofttimes  over  long  in 
coming."    And  Mrs.  Hawkins  sighed. 

VOL.  I.  2  E  w.  H. 


418  HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND 

"But  indeed,  my  dear  madam,  conceive  now. — 
The  Comb  Martin  mine  thus  becomes  a  gold  mine, 
perhaps  inexhaustible ;  yields  me  wherewithal  to  carry 
out  my  north-west  patent;  meanwhile  my  brother 
Humphrey  holds  Newfoundland,  and  builds  me  fresh 
ships  year  by  year  (for  the  forests  of  pine  are  bound- 
less) for  my  China  voyage." 

"  Sir  Humphrey  has  better  thoughts  in  his  dear 
heart  than  gold,  Mr.  Adrian ;  a  very  close  and  gracious 
walker  he  has  been  this  seven  year.  I  wish  my  Cap- 
tain John  were  so  too." 

"And  how  do  you  know  I  have  nought  better  in 
my  mind's  eye  than  gold?  Or,  indeed,  what  better 
could  I  have  1  Is  not  gold  the  Spaniard's  strength — 
the  very  mainspring  of  Antichrist?  By  gold  only, 
therefore,  can  we  out-wrestle  him.  You  shake  your 
head :  but  say,  dear  Madam  (for  gold  England  must 
have),  which  is  better,  to  make  gold  bloodlessly  at 
home,  or  take  it  bloodily  abroad*?" 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Gilbert,  Mr.  Gilbert !  is  it  not  written, 
that  those  who  make  haste  to  be  rich,  pierce  them- 
selves through  with  many  sorrows  1  Oh,  Mr.  Gilbert ! 
God's  blessing  is  not  on  it  all." 

"  Not  on  you,  madam  1  Be  sure  that  brave  Captain 
John  Hawkins's  star  told  me  a  different  tale,  when  I 
cast  his  nativity  for  him. — Bom  under  stormy  planets, 
truly  :  but  under  right  royal  and  fortunate  ones." 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Adrian  !  I  am  a  simple  body,  and  you  a 
great  philosopher  :  but  I  hold  there  is  no  star  for  the 
seaman  like  the  star  of  Bethlehem  ;  and  that  goes 
with  '  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men,'  and  not 


CAME  HOME  AGAIN.  419 

with  such  arms  as  that,  Mr.  Adrian.  I  can't  abide 
to  look  upon  them." 

And  she  pointed  up  to  one  of  the  bosses  of  the 
ribbed  oak-roof,  on  which  was  emblazoned  the  fatal 
crest  which  Clarencieux  Hervey  had  granted  years 
before  to  her  husband,  the  "Demi -Moor  proper, 
bound." 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Gilbert !  since  first  he  went  to  Guinea 
after  those  poor  negroes,  little  lightness  has  my  heart 
known ;  and  the  very  day  that  that  crest  was  put  up 
in  our  grand  new  house,  as  the  parson  read  the  first 
lesson,  there  was  this  text  in  it,  Mr.  Gilbert,  '  Woe  to 
him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  iniquity,  and  his 
chambers  by  wrong.  Shalt  thou  live  because  thou 
closest  thyself  in  cedar?'  And  it  went  into  my  ears 
like  fire,  Mr.  Gilbert,  and  into  my  heart  like  lead : 
and  when  the  parson  went  on,  '  Did  not  thy  father  eat 
and  drink,  and  do  judgment  and  justice?  Then  it 
was  well  with  him,'  I  thought  of  good  old  Captain 
Will ;  and — I  tell  you,  Mr.  Gilbert,  those  negroes  are 
on  my  soul  from  morning  until  night !  We  are  all 
mighty  grand  now,  and  money  comes  in  fast :  but  the 
Lord  will  require  the  blood  of  them  at  our  hands  yet, 
He  will!" 

"My  dearest  madam,  who  can  prosper  more  than 
you  ?  If  your  husband  copied  the  Dons  too  closely 
once  or  twice  in  the  matter  of  those  negroes  (which  I 
do  not  deny),  was  he  not  punished  at  once  when  he 
lost  ships,  men,  all  but  life,  at  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa'?" 

"Ay,  yes,"  she  said;  "and  that  did  give  me  a  bit 
of  comfort,  especially  when  the  Queen,  God  save  her 


420  HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND 

tender  heart !  was  so  sharp  with  him  for  pity  of  the 
poor  wretches :  but  it  has  not  mended  him.  He  is 
growing  fast  like  the  rest  now,  Mr.  Gilbert,  greedy  to 
win,  and  niggardly  to  spend  (God  forgive  him  !)  and 
always  fretting  and  plotting  for  some  new  gain,  and 
envying  and  grudging  at  Drake,  and  all  who  are 
deeper  in  the  snare  of  prosperity  than  he  is.  Gold, 
gold,  nothing  but  gold  in  every  mouth — there  it  is ! 
Ah !  I  mind  when  Plymouth  was  a  quiet  little  God- 
fearing place  as  God  could  smile  upon :  but  ever  since 
my  John,  and  Sir  Francis,  and  poor  Mr.  Oxenham 
found  out  the  way  to  the  Indies,  it's  been  a  sad  place. 
Not  a  sailor's  wife,  but  is  crying  'Give,  give,'  like  the 
daughters  of  the  horse-leech ;  and  every  woman  must 
drive  her  husband  out  across  seas  to  bring  her  home 
money  to  squander  on  hoods  and  farthingales,  and  go 
mincing  with  outstretched  necks,  and  wanton  eyes; 
and  they  will  soon  learn  to  do  worse  than  that,  for 
the  sake  of  gain.  But  the  Lord's  hand  will  be  against 
their  tires  and  crisping-pins,  their  mufflers  and  far- 
thingales, as  it  was  against  the  Jews  of  old.  Ah,  dear 
me!" 

The  two  interlocutors  in  this  dialogue  were  sitting 
in  a  low  oak-panelled  room  in  Plymouth  town,  hand- 
somely enough  furnished,  adorned  with  carving  and 
gilding  and  coats  of  arms,  and  noteworthy  for  many 
strange  knicknacks,  Spanish  gold  and  silver  vessels  on 
the  sideboard ;  strange  birds  and  skins,  and  charts  and 
rough  drawings  of  coast  which  hung  about  the  room  ; 
while  over  the  fireplace,  above  the  portrait  of  old 
Captain  Will  Hawkins,  pet  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  hung 


CAME  HOME  AGAIN.  421 

the  Spanish  ensign  which  Captain  John  had  taken  in 
fair  fight  at  Kio  de  la  Hacha  fifteen  years  before, 
when,  with  two  hundred  men,  he  seized  the  town  in 
despite  of  ten  hundred  Spanish  soldiers,  and  watered 
his  ship  triumphantly  at  the  enemy's  wells. 

The  gentleman  was  a  tall  fair  man,  mth  a  broad 
and  lofty  forehead,  wrinkled  with  study,  and  eyes 
weakened  by  long  poring  over  the  crucible  and  the 
furnace. 

The  lady  had  once  been  comely  enough :  but  she 
was  aged  and  worn,  as  sailors'  wives  are  apt  to  be,  by 
many  sorrows.  Many  a  sad  day  had  she  had  already ; 
for  although  John  Hawkins,  port-admiral  of  Plymouth, 
and  Patriarch  of  British  shipbuilders,  was  a  faithful 
husband  enough,  and  as  ready  to  forgive  as  he  was  to 
quarrel,  yet  he  was  obstinate  and  ruthless,  and  in 
spite  of  his  religiosity  (for  all  men  were  religious  then) 
was  by  no  means  a  "consistent  walker." 

And  sadder  days  were  in  store  for  her,  poor  soul. 
Nine  years  hence  she  would  be  asked  to  name  her 
son's  brave  new  ship,  and  would  christen  it  The 
Repentance,  giving  no  reason,  in  her  quiet  steadfast 
way  (so  says  her  son  Sir  Richard)  but  that  "  Repent- 
ance was  the  best  ship  in  which  we  could  sail  to  the 
harbour  of  heaven;"  and  she  would  hear  that  Queen 
Elizabeth,  complaining  of  the  name  for  an  unlucky 
one,  had  re-christened  her  The  Dainty,  not  without 
some  by-quip,  perhaps,  at  the  character  of  her  most 
dainty  captain,  Richard  Hawkins,  the  complete  seaman 
and  Euphuist  afloat,  of  whom,  perhaps,  more  hereafter. 

With  sad  eyes  Mrs.  (then  Lady)  Hawkins  would 


422  HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND 

see  that  gallant  bark  sail  Westward -ho,  to  go  the 
world  around,  as  many  another  ship  sailed ;  and  then 
wait,  as  many  a  mother  beside  had  waited,  for  the 
sail  which  never  returned;  till  dim  and  uncertain, 
came  tidings  of  her  boy  fighting  for  four  days  three 
great  Armadas  (for  the  coxcomb  had  his  father's  heart 
in  him  after  all),  a  prisoner,  wounded,  ruined,  lan- 
guishing for  weary  years  in  Spanish  prisons.  And  a 
sadder  day  than  that  was  in  store,  when  a  gallant 
fleet  should  round  the  Ram  Head,  not  with  drum  and 
trumpet,  but  with  solemn  minute  guns,  and  all  flags 
half-mast  high,  to  tell  her  that  her  terrible  husband's 
work  was  done,  his  terrible  heart  broken  by  failure 
and  fatigue,  and  his  body  laid  by  Drake's,  beneath 
the  far  off  tropic  seas. 

And  if,  at  the  close  of  her  eventful  life,  one  gleam 
of  sunshine  opened  for  a  while,  when  her  boy  Richard 
returned  to  her  bosom  from  his  Spanish  prison,  to  be 
knighted  for  his  valour,  and  made  a  Privy  Councillor 
for  his  wisdom ;  yet  soon,  how  soon,  was  the  old  cloud 
to  close  in  again  above  her,  until  her  weary  eyes  should 
open  in  the  light  of  Paradise.  For  that  son  dropped 
dead,  some  say  at  the  very  council -table,  leaving 
behind  him  nought  but  broken  fortunes,  and  huge 
purposes  which  never  were  fulfilled ;  and  the  stormy 
star  of  that  bold  race  Avas  set  for  ever,  and  Lady 
Hawkins  bowed  her  weary  head  and  died,  the  groan 
of  those  stolen  negroes  ringing  in  her  ears,  having 
lived  long  enough  to  see  her  husband's  youthful  sin 
become  a  national  institution,  and  a  national  curse  for 
generations  yet  unborn. 


CAME  HOME  AGAIN.  423 

I  know  not  why  she  opened  her  heart  that  night 
to  Adrian  Gilbert,  with  a  frankness  which  she  would 
hardly  have  dared  to  use  to  her  own  family.  Perhaps 
it  was  that  Adrian,  like  his  great  brothers,  Humphrey 
and  Kaleigh,  was  a  man  full  of  all  lofty  and  delicate 
enthusiasms,  tender  and  poetical,  such  as  women 
cling  to  when  their  hearts  are  lonely ;  but  so  it  was ; 
and  Adrian,  half  ashamed  of  his  own  ambitious 
dreams,  sate  looking  at  her  awhile  in  silence ;  and 
then — 

"The  Lord  be  with  you,  dearest  lady.  Strange, 
how  you  women  sit  at  home  to  love  and  suffer,  while 
we  men  rush  forth  to  break  our  hearts  and  yours 
against  rocks  of  our  own  seeking  !  Ah  well !  were  it 
not  for  Scripture,  I  should  have  thought  that  Adam, 
rather  than  Eve,  had  been  the  one  who  plucked  the 
fruit  of  the  forbidden  tree." 

"We  women,  I  fear,  did  the  deed  nevertheless j 
for  we  bear  the  doom  of  it  our  lives  long." 

"  You  always  remind  me,  madam,  of  my  dear  Mrs. 
Leigh  of  Burrough,  and  her  counsels." 

"  Do  you  see  her  often  ?  I  hear  of  her  as  one  of 
the  Lord's  most  precious  vessels." 

"I  would  have  done  more  ere  now  than  see  her," 
said  he  with  a  blush,  "  had  she  allowed  me  :  but  she 
lives  only  for  the  memory  of  her  husband  and  the 
fame  of  her  noble  sons." 

As  he  spoke  the  door  opened,  and  in  walked, 
wrapped  in  his  rough  sea-gown,  none  other  than  one 
of  those  said  noble  sons. 

Adrian  turned  pale. 


424  HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND 

"  Amyas  Leigh !  What  brings  you  hither*?  How 
fares  my  brother?    Where  is  the  ship?" 

"  Your  brother  is  well,  Mr.  Gilbert.  The  Golden 
Hind  is  gone  on  to  Dartmouth,  with  Mr.  Hayes.  I 
came  ashore  here,  meaning  to  go  north  to  Bideford, 
ere  I  went  to  London.  I  called  at  Drake's  just  now, 
but  he  was  away." 

"  The  Golden  Hind  1  What  brings  her  home  so 
soon?" 

"Yet  welcome  ever,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Hawkins. 
"  This  is  a  great  surprise,  though.  Captain  John  did 
not  look  for  you  till  next  year." 

Amyas  was  silent. 

"  Something  is  wrong  ! "  cried  Adrian.     "  Speak ! " 

Amyas  tried,  but  could  not. 

"  Will  you  drive  a  man  mad,  sir  1  Has  the  adven- 
ture failed?    You  said  my  brother  was  well." 

"He  is  well." 

"Then  what — Why  do  you  look  at  me  in  that 
fashion,  sir?"  and  springing  up,  Adrian  rushed  for- 
ward, and  held  the  candle  to  Amyas's  face. 

Amyas's  lip  quivered,  as  he  laid  his  hand  on 
Adrian's  shoulder. 

"Your  great  and  glorious  brother,  sir,  is  better 
bestowed  than  in  settling  Newfoundland." 

"Dead?"  shrieked  Adrian. 

"  He  is  with  the  God  whom  he  served  !" 

"  He  was  always  Avith  him,  like  Enoch :  parable 
me  no  parables,  if  you  love  me,  sir ' " 

''And,  like  Enoch,  he  was  not;  for  God  took 
him" 


CAME  HOME  AGAIN.  425 

Adrian  clasped  his  hands  over  his  forehead,  and 
leaned  against  the  table. 

"  Go  on,  sir,  go  on.  God  will  give  me  strength  to 
hear  alL" 

And  gradually  Amyas  opened  to  Adrian  that  tragic 
story,  which  Mr,  Hayes  has  long  ago  told  far  too  well 
to  allow  a  second  edition  of  it  from  me ;  of  the  un- 
ruliness  of  the  men,  ruffians,  as  I  said  before,  caught 
up  at  hap-hazard;  of  conspiracies  to  carry  off  the 
ships,  plunder  of  fishing  vessels,  desertions  multiplying 
daily ;  licences  from  the  General  to  the  lazy  and  fearful 
to  return  hopie  :  till  Adrian  broke  out  with  a  groan — 

"From  himi  Conspired  against  him?  Deserted 
from  him  1  Dotards,  buzzards  1  Where  would  they 
have  found  such  another  leader  1" 

"Your  illustrious  brother,  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "if 
you  will  pardon  me,  was  a  very  great  philosopher,  but 
not  so  much  of  a  general." 

"General,  sirl     Where  was  braver  manf 

"Not  on  God's  earth :  but  that  does  not  make  a 
general,  sir.  If  Cortes  had  been  brave  and  no  more, 
Mexico  would  have  been  Mexico  still.  The  truth  is, 
sir,  Cortes,  Kke  my  Captain  Drake,  knew  when  to 
hang  a  man ;  and  your  great  brother  did  not." 

Amyas,  as  I  suppose,  was  right.  Gilbert  was  a 
man  who  could  be  angry  enough  at  baseness  or 
neglect,  but  who  was  too  kindly  to  punish  it ;  he  was 
one  who  could  form  the  wisest  and  best  digested 
plans,  but  who  could  not  stoop  to  that  hail-fellow-well- 
met  drudgery  among  his  subordinates  which  has  been 
the  talisman  of  great  captains. 


426  HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND 

Then  Amyas  went  on  to  tell  the  rest  of  his  story ; 
the  setting  sail  from  St.  John's  to  discover  the  south- 
ward coast ;  Sir  Humphrey's  chivalrous  determination 
to  go  in  the  little  Squirrel  of  only  ten  tons,  and  "  over- 
charged with  nettings,  fights,  and  small  ordnance,"  not 
only  because  she  was  more  fit  to  examine  the  creeks, 
but  because  he  had  heard  of  some  taunt  against  him 
among  the  men,  that  he  was  afraid  of  the  sea. 

After  that,  woe  on  woe ;  how,  seven  days  after 
they  left  Cape  Eaz,  their  largest  ship,  the  Delight, 
after  she  had  "most  part  of  the  night"  (I  quote 
Hayes),  "  like  the  swan  that  singeth  before  her  death, 
continued  in  sounding  of  trumpets,  drums,  and  fifes, 
also  winding  of  the  cornets  and  hautboys,  and,  in  the 
end  of  their  jollity,  left  off  with  the  battle  and  doleful 
knells,"  struck  the  next  day  (the  Golden  Hind  and 
the  Squirrel  sheering  off  just  in  time)  upon  unknown 
shoals ;  where  were  lost  all  but  fourteen,  and  among 
them  Frank's  philosopher  friend,  poor  Budaeus  j  and 
those  who  escaped,  after  all  horrors  of  cold  and 
famine,  were  cast  on  shore  in  Newfoundland.  How, 
worn  out  with  hunger  and  want  of  clothes,  the  crews 
of  the  two  remaining  ships  persuaded  Sir  Humphrey 
to  sail  toward  England  on  the  31st  of  August;  and 
on  "that  very  instant,  even  in  winding  about,"  beheld 
close  alongside  "a  very  lion  in  shape,  hair,  and  colour, 
not  swimming,  but  sliding  on  the  water,  with  his 
whole  body ;  who  passed  along,  turning  his  head  to 
and  fro,  yawning  and  gaping  wide,  with  ugly  demon- 
stration of  long  teeth  and  glaring  eyes ;  and  to  bid  us 
farewell  (coming  right  against  the  Hind)  he  sent  forth 


CAME  HOME  AGAIN.  427 

a  horrible  voice,  roaring  or  bellowing  as  doth  a  lion." 
"What  opinion  others  had  thereof,  and  chiefly  the 
General  himself,  I  forbear  to  deliver ;  but  he  took  it 
for  bonum  omen,  rejoicing  that  he  was  to  war  against 
such  an  enemy,  if  it  were  the  devil." 

"And  the  devil  it  was,  doubtless,"  said  Adrian, 
"  the  roaring  lion  who  goes  about  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour." 

"He  has  not  got  your  brother,  at  least,"  quoth 
Amyas. 

"No,"  rejoined  Mrs.  Hawkins  (smile  not,  reader, 
for  those  were  days  in  which  men  believed  in  the 
devil) ;  "he  roared  for  joy  to  think  how  many  poor 
souls  would  be  left  still  in  heathen  darkness  by  Sir 
Humphrey's  death.  God  be  with  that  good  knight, 
and  send  all  mariners  where  he  is  now ! " 

Then  Amyas  told  the  last  scene  ;  how,  when  they 
were  off  the  Azores,  the  storms  came  on  heavier  than 
ever,  with  "terrible  seas,  breaking  short  and  pyramid- 
wise,"  till,  on  the  9th  September,  the  tiny  Squirrel 
nearly  foundered  and  yet  recovered;  "and  the  General, 
sitting  abaft  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  cried  out  to  us 
in  the  Hind  so  oft  as  we  did  approach  within  hearing, 
'  We  are  as  near  heaven  by  sea  as  by  land,'  reiterating 
the  same  speech,  well  beseeming  a  soldier  resolute  in 
Jesus  Christ,  as  I  can  testify  he  was. 

"  The  same  Monday,  about  twelve  of  the  clock,  or 
not  long  after,  the  frigate  (the  Squirrel)  being  ahead 
of  us  in  the  Golden  Hind,  suddenly  her  lights  were 
out ;  and  withal  our  watch  cried,  the  General  was  cast 
away,  which  was  true ;  for  in  that  moment,  the  frigate 


428  HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND 

was  devoured  and  swallowed  up  of  the  sea."  And  so 
ended  (I  have  used  Hayes'  own  words)  Amyas  Leigh's 
story. 

"Oh,  my  brother!  my  brother!"  moaned  poor 
Adrian ;  "  the  glory  of  his  house,  the  glory  of  Devon  !" 

"Ah!  what  will  the  Queen  sayf  asked  Mrs. 
Hawkins  through  her  tears. 

"Tell  me,"  asked  Adrian,  "had  he  the  jewel  on 
when  he  died?" 

"  The  Queen's  jewel  1  He  always  wore  that,  and 
his  own  posy  too,  'Mutare  vel  timere  sperno.'  He 
wore  it ;  and  he  lived  it." 

"Ay,"  said  Adrian,  "the  same  to  the  last !" 

"  Not  quite  that,"  said  Amyas.  "  He  was  a  meeker 
man  latterly  than  he  used  to  be.  As  he  said  himself 
once,  a  better  refiner  than  any  whom  he  had  on  board 
had  followed  him  close  all  the  seas  over,  and  purified 
him  in  the  fire.  And  gold  seven  times  tried  he  was, 
when  God,  having  done  his  work  in  him,  took  him 
home  at  last." 

And  so  the  talk  ended.  There  was  no  doubt  that 
the  expedition  had  been  an  utter  failure ;  Adrian  was 
a  ruined  man ;  and  Amyas  had  lost  his  venture. 

Adrian  rose,  and  begged  leave  to  retire ;  he  must 
collect  himself. 

"Poor  gentleman!"  said  Mrs.  Hawkins;  "it  is 
little  else  he  has  left  to  collect." 

"Or  I  either,"  said  Amyas.  "I  was  going  to  ask 
you  to  lend  me  one  of  your  son's  shirts,  and  five 
pounds  to  get  myself  and  my  men  home." 

"  Five  1    Fifty,  Mr.  Leigh  !     God  forbid  that  John 


CAME  HOME  AGAIN.  429 

Hawkins's  wife  should  refuse  her  last  penny  to  a  dis- 
tressed mariner,  and  he  a  gentleman  born.  But  you 
must  eat  and  drink." 

"  It's  more  than  I  have  done  for  many  a  day  worth 
speaking  of." 

And  Amyas  sat  down  in  his  rags  to  a  good  supper, 
while  Mrs,  Hawkins  told  him  all  the  news  which  she 
could  of  his  mother,  whom  Adrian  Gilbert  had  seen  a 
few  months  before  in  London;  and  then  went  on, 
naturally  enough,  to  the  Bideford  news. 

"And  by  the  by,  Captain  Leigh,  I've  sad  news 
for  you  from  your  place ;  and  I  had  it  from  one  who 
was  there  at  the  time.  You  must  know  a  Spanish 
captain,  a  prisoner " 

"What,  the  one  I  sent  home  from  Smerwickf 

"  You  sent  ?  Mercy  on  us  !  Then,  perhaps,  you've 
heard—" 

"  How  can  I  have  heard  ?    What  f 

"That  he's  gone  off,  the  villain f 

"Without  paying  his  ransom  1" 

"I  can't  say  that;  but  there's  a  poor  innocent 
young  maid  gone  off  with  him,  one  Salterne's  daughter 
— the  Popish  serpent ! " 

"Eose  Salterne,  the  mayor's  daughter,  the  Kose  of 
Torridge!" 

"That's  her.  Bless  your  dear  soul,  what  ails 
yonV 

Amyas  had  dropped  back  in  his  seat  as  if  he  had 
been  shot ;  but  he  recovered  himself  before  kind  Mrs. 
Hawkins  could  rush  to  the  cupboard  for  cordials. 

"  You'll  forgive  me.  Madam ;  but  I'm  weak  from 


430       HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND  CAME  HOME  AGAIN. 

the  sea ;  and  your  good  ale  has  turned  me  a  bit  dizzy, 
I  think." 

"  Ay,  yes,  'tis  too,  too  heavy,  till  you've  been  on 
shore  awhile.  Try  the  aqua  vitse  ;  my  Captain  John 
has  it  right  good ;  and  a  bit  too  fond  of  it  too,  poor 
dear  soul,  between  whiles,  Heaven  forgive  him  1" 

So  she  poured  some  strong  brandy  and  water  down 
Amyas's  throat,  in  spite  of  his  refusals,  and  sent  him 
to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep ;  and  after  a  night  of  tossing, 
he  started  for  Bideford,  having  obtained  the  means 
for  so  doing  from  Mrs.  Hawkins. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HOW  SALVATION  YEO  SLEW  THE  KING  OF 
THE  GUBBINGS. 

' '  Ignorance  and  evil,  even  in  full  flight,  deal  terrible  back- 
handed strokes  at  their  pursuers." — Helps. 

Now  I  am  sorry  to  say,  for  the  honour  of  my  country, 
that  it  was  by  no  means  a  safe  thing  in  those  days  to 
travel  from  Plymouth  to  the  north  of  Devon ;  because, 
to  get  to  your  journey's  end,  unless  you  were  minded  to 
make  a  circuit  of  many  miles,  you  must  needs  pass 
through  the  territory  of  a  foreign  and  hostile  potentate, 
who  had  many  times  ravaged  the  dominions,  and 
defeated  the  forces  of  her  Majesty  Queen  Elizabeth, 
and  was  named  (behind  his  back  at  least)  the  King  of 
the  Gubbings.  "So  now  I  dare  call  them,"  says 
Fuller,  "  secured  by  distance,  which  one  of  more 
valour  durst  not  do  to  their  face,  for  fear  their  fury 
fall  upon  him.  Yet  hitherto  have  I  met  with  none 
who  could  render  a  reason  of  their  name.  We  call 
the  shavings  of  fish  (which  are  little  worth)  gubbings ; 
and  sure  it  is  that  they  are  sensible  that  the  word  im- 
porteth  shame  and  disgrace. 

"As  for  the  suggestion  of  my  worthy  and  learned 
friend,  Mr.    Joseph   Maynard,  that  such  as  did  'in- 


432  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

habitare  montes  gibberosos,'  were  called  Gubbings, 
such  will  smile  at  the  ingenuity  who  dissent  from  the 
truth  of  the  etymology. 

"  I  have  read  of  an  England  beyond  Wales,  but  the 
Gubbings  land  is  a  Scythia  within  England,  and  they 
pure  heathens  therein.  It  lieth  nigh  Brent.  For  in 
the  edge  of  Dartmoor  it  is  reported  that,  some  two 
hundred  years  since,  two  bad  women,  being  with  child, 
fled  thither  to  hide  themselves ;  to  whom  certain  lewd 
fellows  resorted,  and  this  was  their  first  original. 
They  are  a  peculiar  of  their  own  making,  exempt  from 
bishop,  archdeacon,  and  all  authority,  either  ecclesi- 
astical or  civil.  They  live  in  cots  (rather  holes  than 
houses)  like  swine,  having  all  in  common,  multiplied 
without  marriage  into  many  hundreds.  Their  lan- 
guage is  the  dross  of  the  dregs  of  the  vulgar  Devonian; 
and  the  more  learned  a  man  is,  the  worse  he  can 
understand  them.  During  our  civil  wars  no  soldiers 
were  quartered  upon  them,  for  fear  of  being  quartered 
amongst  them.  Their  wealth  consisteth  in  other  men's 
goods ;  they  live  by  stealing  the  sheep  on  the  moors ; 
and  vain  is  it  for  any  to  search  their  houses,  being  a 
work  beneath  the  pains  of  any  sheriff*,  and  above  the 
power  of  any  constable.  Such  is  their  fleetness,  they 
will  outrun  many  horses ;  vivaciousness,  they  outlive 
most  men ;  living  in  an  ignorance  of  luxury,  the  ex- 
tinguisher of  life.  They  hold  together  like  bees; 
off'end  one,  and  all  will  revenge  his  quarrel. 

"  But  now  I  am  informed  that  they  begin  to  be 
civilised,  and  tender  their  children  to  baptism,  and 
return  to  be  men,  yea.  Christians  again.     I  hope  no 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  433 

civil  people  amongst  us  ■svill  turn  barbarians,  now  these 
barbarians  begin  to  be  civilised."^ 

With  which  quip  against  the  Anabaptists  of  his  day, 
Fuller  ends  his  story ;  and  I  leave  him  to  set  forth 
how  Amyas,  in  fear  of  these  same  Scythians  and 
heathens,  rode  out  of  Plymouth  on  a  right  good  horse, 
in  his  full  suit  of  armour,  carrying  lance  and  sword, 
and  over  and  above  two  great  dags,  or  horse-pistols ; 
and  behind  him  Salvation  Yeo,  and  five  or  six  north 
Devon  men  (who  had  served  with  him  in  Ireland,  and 
were  returning  on  furlough),  clad  in  head-pieces  and 
quilted  jerkins,  each  man  with  his  pike  and  sword, 
and  Yeo  with  arquebuse  and  match,  while  two  sumpter 
ponies  carried  the  baggage  of  this  formidable  troop. 

They  pushed  on  as  fast  as  they  could,  through 
Tavistock,  to  reach  before  nightfall  Lydford,  where 
they  meant  to  sleep;  but  what  with  buying  the 
horses,  and  other  delays,  they  had  not  been  able  to 
start  before  noon ;  and  night  fell  just  as  they  reached 
the  frontiers  of  the  enemy's  country.  A  dreary  place 
enough  it  was,  by  the  wild  glare  of  sunset.  A  high 
table-land  of  heath,  banked  on  the  right  by  the  crags 
and  hills  of  Dartmoor,  and  sloping  away  to  the  south 
and  west  toward  the  foot  of  the  great  cone  of  Brent- 
Tor,  which  towered  up  like  an  extinct  volcano  (as  some 
say  that  it  really  is),  crowned  with  the  tiny  church,  the 
votive  offering  of  some  Plymouth  merchant  of  old 
times,  who  vowed  in  sore  distress  to  build  a  church  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  first  point  of  English  land 
which  he  should  see.     Far  away,  down  those  waste 

1  Fuller,  p.  898. 
VOL.  L  2  F  w.  H. 


434  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

slopes,  they  could  see  the  tiny  threads  of  blue  smoke 
rising  from  the  dens  of  the  Gubbings ;  and  more  than 
once  they  called  a  halt,  to  examine  whether  distant 
furze-bushes  and  ponies  might  not  be  the  patrols  of  an 
advancing  army.  It  is  all  very  well  to  laugh  at  it 
now,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  but  it  was  no  laughing 
matter  then ;  as  they  found  before  they  had  gone  two 
miles  farther. 

On  the  middle  of  the  down  stood  a  wayside  inn ;  a 
desolate  and  villanous-looking  lump  of  lichen-spotted 
granite,  with  windows  paper -patched,  and  rotting 
thatch  kept  down  by  stones  and  straw-bands ;  and  at 
the  back  a  rambling  courtledge  of  barns  and  walls, 
around  which  pigs  and  barefoot  children  grunted  in 
loving  communion  of  dirt.  At  the  door,  rapt  appa- 
rently in  the  contemplation  of  the  mountain  peaks 
which  glowed  rich  orange  in  the  last  lingering  sun-rays, 
but  really  watching  which  way  the  sheep  on  the  moor 
were  taking,  stood  the  inn-keeper,  a  brawny,  sodden- 
visaged,  blear-eyed  six  feet  of  brutishness,  holding  up 
his  hose  with  one  hand,  for  want  of  points,  and  claw- 
ing with  the  other  his  elf-locks,  on  which  a  fair 
sprinkling  of  feathers  might  denote ;  first  that  he  was 
just  out  of  bed,  having  been  out  sheep-stealing  all  the 
night  before ;  and  secondly,  that  by  natural  genius  he 
had  anticipated  the  opinion  of  that  great  apostle  of 
sluttishness,  Fridericus  Dedekind,  and  his  faithful 
disciple  Dekker,  which  last  speaks  thus  to  all  gulls  and 
grobians  : — "  Consider  that  as  those  trees  of  cobweb 
lawn,  woven  by  spinners  in  the  fresh  May  mornings, 
do   dress  the   curled   heads   of  the   mountains,  and 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  435 

adorn  the  swelling  bosoms  of  the  valleys ;  or  as  those 
snowy  fleeces,  which  the  naked  briar  steals  from  the 
innocent  sheep  to  make  himself  a  warm  winter  livery, 
are,  to  either  of  them  both,  an  excellent  ornament; 
so  make  thou  account,  that  to  have  feathers  sticking 
here  and  there  on  thy  head  will  embellish  thee,  and 
set  thy  crown  out  rarely.  None  dare  upbraid  thee, 
that  like  a  beggar  thou  hast  lain  on  straw,  or  like  a 
travelling  pedlar  upon  musty  flocks;  for  those  feathers 
will  rise  up  as  witnesses  to  choke  him  that  says  so, 
and  to  prove  thy  bed  to  have  been  of  the  softest 
down."  Even  so  did  those  feathers  bear  witness  that 
the  possessor  of  Kogues'  Harbour  Inn,  on  Brent-Tor 
Down,  whatever  else  he  lacked,  lacked  not  geese 
enough  to  keep  him  in  soft  Ijang. 

Presently  he  spies  Amyas  and  his  party  coming 
slowly  over  the  hill,  pricks  up  his  ears,  and  counts 
them;  sees  Amyas's  armour;  shakes  his  head  and 
grunts ;  and  then,  being  a  man  of  few  words,  utters  a 
sleepy  howl — 

"  Mirooi ! — Fushing  pooale  !" 

A  strapping  lass — whose  only  covering  (for  country 
women  at  work  in  those  days  dispensed  with  the 
ornament  of  a  gown)  is  a  green  bodice  and  red  petti- 
coat, neither  of  them  over  ample — brings  out  his  fish- 
ing-rod and  basket,  and  the  man,  having  tied  up  his 
hose  with  some  ends  of  string,  examines  the  footlink. 

"  Don  vlies' gone  ! " 

*'Maybe,"  says  Mary;  "shouldn't  hav'  left  mun 
out  to  coort.  May  be  old  hen's  ate  mun  off!  I  see 
her  chocking  about  a  while  agone." 


436  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

The  host  receives  this  intelligence  with  an  oath, 
and  replies  by  a  violent  blow  at  Mary's  head,  which 
she,  accustomed  to  such  slight  matters,  dodges,  and 
then  returns  the  blow  with  good  effect  on  the  shock 
head. 

Whereon  mine  host,  equally  accustomed  to  such 
slight  matters,  quietly  shambles  off,  howling  as  he 
departs — 

"Tellpatrico!" 

Mary  runs  in,  combs  her  hair,  slips  a  pair  of  stock- 
ings and  her  best  gown  over  her  dirt,  and  awaits  the 
coming  guests,  who  make  a  few  long  faces  at  the 
"mucksy  sort  of  a  place,"  but  prefer  to  spend  the 
night  there  than  to  bivouac  close  to  the  enemy's  camp. 

So  the  old  hen  who  has  swallowed  the  dun  fly  is 
killed,  plucked,  and  roasted,  and  certain  "  black  Dart- 
moor mutton  "  is  put  on  the  gridiron,  and  being  com- 
pelled to  confess  the  truth  by  that  fiery  torment, 
proclaims  itself  to  all  noses  as  red-deer  venison.  In 
the  meanwhile  Amyas  has  put  his  horse  and  the 
ponies  into  a  shed,  to  which  he  can  find  neither  lock 
nor  key,  and  therefore  returns  grumbling,  not  without 
fear  for  his  steed's  safety.  The  baggage  is  heaped  in 
a  corner  of  the  room,  and  Amyas  stretches  his  legs 
before  a  turf  fire ;  while  Yeo,  who  has  his  notions 
about  the  place,  posts  himself  at  the  door,  and  the 
men  are  seized  with  a  desire  to  superintend  the  cook- 
ing, probably  to  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  Mary 
is  cook. 

Presently  Yeo  comes  in  again. 

"There's  a  gentleman  just  coming  up,  sir,  all  alone." 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  437 

"Ask  him  to  make  one  of  our  party,  then,  with 
my  compliments."  Yeo  goes  out,  and  returns  in  five 
minutes. 

"Please,  sir,  he's  gone  in  back  ways,  by  the  court." 

"  Well,  he  has  an  odd  taste,  if  he  makes  himself  at 
home  here." 

Out  goes  Yeo  again,  and  comes  back  once  more 
after  five  minutes,  in  high  excitement. 

"Come  out,  sir  ;  for  goodness'  sake  come  out.  I've 
got  him.     Safe  as  a  rat  in  a  trap,  I  have  ! " 

"AVhof 

"A  Jesuit,  sir." 

"  Nonsense,  man  ! " 

"  I  tell  you  truth,  sir,  I  went  round  the  house,  for 
I  didn't  like  the  looks  of  him  as  he  came  up.  I  knew 
he  was  one  of  them  villains  the  minute  he  came  up, 
by  the  way  he  turned  in  his  toes,  and  put  down  his 
feet  so  still  and  careful,  like  as  if  he  was  afraid  of 
off'ending  God  at  every  step.  So  I  just  put  my  eye 
between  the  wall  and  the  dern  of  the  gate,  and  I  saw 
him  come  up  to  the  back  door  and  knock,  and  call 
'  Mary ! '  quite  still,  like  any  Jesuit ;  and  the  wench 
flies  out  to  him  ready  to  eat  him;  and  *Go  away,'  I 
heard  her  say,  'there's  a  dear  man;'  and  then  some- 
thing about  a  '  queer  cuflin '  (that's  a  justice  in  these 
canters'  thieves'  Latin) ;  and  with  that  he  takes  out 
a  somewhat — I'll  swear  it  was  one  of  those  Popish 
Agnuses — and  gives  it  her;  and  she  kisses  it,  and 
crosses  herself,  and  asks  him  if  that's  the  right  way, 
and  then  puts  it  into  her  bosom,  and  he  says,  '  Bless 
you,  my  daughter ; '  and  then  I  was  sure  of  the  dog : 


438  HOW  SALVATIOX  YEO 

and  he  slips  quite  still  to  the  stable,  and  peeps  in,  and 
when  he  sees  no  one  there,  in  he  goes,  and  out  I  go, 
and  shut  to  the  door,  and  back  a  cart  that  was  there 
up  against  it,  and  call  out  one  of  the  men  to  watch 
the  stable,  and  the  girl's  crying  like  mad." 

"  What  a  fool's  trick,  man !  How  do  you  know 
that  he  is  not  some  honest  gentleman  after  all  f 

"Fool  or  none,  sir;  honest  gentlemen  don't  give 
maidens  Agnuses.  I've  put  him  in ;  and  if  you  want 
him  let  out  again,  you  must  come  and  do  it  yourself, 
for  my  conscience  is  against  it,  sir.  If  the  Lord's 
enemies  are  delivered  into  my  hand,  I'm  answerable, 
sir,"  went  on  Yeo  as  Amyas  hurried  out  with  him. 
"'Tis  written,  'If  any  let  one  of  them  go,  his  life 
shall  be  for  the  life  of  him.'" 

So  Amyas  ran  out,  pulled  back  the  cart  grumbling, 
opened  the  door,  and  began  a  string  of  apologies  to — 
his  cousin  Eustace. 

Yes,  here  he  was,  with  such  a  countenance,  half 
foolish,  half  venomous,  as  Eeynard  wears  when  the 
last  spadeful  of  earth  is  thrown  back,  and  he  is  re- 
vealed sitting  disconsolately  on  his  tail  within  a  yard 
of  the  terriers'  noses. 

Neither  cousin  spoke  for  a  minute  or  two.  At  last 
Amyas, — 

"  Well,  cousin  hide-and-seek,  how  long  have  you 
added  horse-stealing  to  your  other  trades  f' 

"My  dear  Amyas,"  said  Eustace  very  meekly,  "I 
may  surely  go  into  an  inn  stable  without  intending  to 
steal  what  is  in  it." 

"  Of  course,  old  fellow,"  said  Amyas,  mollified,  "  I 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  439 

was  only  in  jest.  But  what  brings  you  here  1  Not 
prudence,  certainly." 

"  I  am  bound  to  know  no  prudence  save  for  the 
Lord's  work." 

"That's  giving  away  Agnus  Deis,  and  deceiving 
poor  heathen  wenches,  I  suppose,"  said  Yeo. 

Eustace  answered  pretty  roundly, — 

"Heathens'?  Yes,  truly;  you  Protestants  leave 
these  poor  wretches  heathens,  and  then  insult  and 
persecute  those  who,  with  a  devotion  unknown  to 
you,  labour  at  the  danger  of  their  lives  to  make  them 
Christians.  Mr.  Amyas  Leigh,  you  can  give  me  up  to 
be  hanged  at  Exeter,  if  it  shall  so  please  you  to  dis- 
grace your  own  family;  but  from  this  spot  neither 
you,  no,  nor  all  the  myrmidons  of  your  Queen,  shall 
drive  me,  while  there  is  a  soul  here  left  unsaved." 

"Come  out  of  the  stable,  at  least,"  said  Amyas; 
"you  don't  want  to  make  the  horses  Papists,  as  well 
as  the  asses,  do  you  1  Come  out,  man,  and  go  to  the 
devil  your  own  way.  I  shan't  inform  against  you; 
and  Yeo  here  will  hold  his  tongue  if  I  tell  him,  I 
know." 

"It  goes  sorely  against  my  conscience,  sir;  but 
being  that  he  is  your  cousin,  of  course " 

"  Of  course ;  and  now  come  in  and  eat  with  me ; 
supper's  just  ready,  and  bygones  shall  be  bygones,  if 
you  will  have  them  so." 

How  much  forgiveness  Eustace  felt  in  his  heart,  I 
know  not :  but  he  knew,  of  course,  that  he  ought  to 
forgive;  and  to  go  in  and  eat  with  Amyas  was  to 
perform  an  act  of  forgiveness,  and  for  the  best  of 


440  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

motives,  too,  for  by  it  the  cause  of  the  Church  might 
be  furthered;  and  acts  and  motives  being  correct, 
what  more  was  needed  *?  So  in  he  went ;  and  yet  he 
never  forgot  that  scar  upon  his  cheek;  and  Amyas 
could  not  look  him  in  the  face,  but  Eustace  must 
fancy  that  his  eyes  were  on  the  scar,  and  peep  up 
from  under  his  lids,  to  see  if  there  was  any  smile  of 
triumph  on  that  honest  visage.  They  talked  away 
over  the  venison,  guardedly  enough  at  first ;  but  as 
they  went  on,  Amyas's  straightforward  kindliness 
warmed  poor  Eustace's  frozen  heart;  and  ere  they 
were  aware,  they  found  themselves  talking  over  old 
haunts  and  old  passages  of  their  boyhood — uncles, 
aunts,  and  cousins ;  and  Eustace,  without  any  sinister 
intention,  asked  Amyas  why  he  was  going  to  Bideford, 
while  Frank  and  his  mother  were  in  London. 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  cannot  rest  till  I  have 
heard  the  whole  story  about  poor  Rose  Salterne." 

"What  about  herf  cried  Eustace. 

"Do  you  not  knowf 

"  How  should  I  know  anything  here  1  For  heaven's 
sake,  what  has  happened  V 

Amyas  told  him,  wondering  at  his  eagerness,  for 
he  had  never  had  the  least  suspicion  of  Eustace's  love. 

Eustace  shrieked  aloud. 

"  Fool,  fool  that  I  have  been  !  Caught  in  my  own 
trap  !  Villain,  villain  that  he  is  !  After  all  he  pro- 
mised me  at  Lundy  ! " 

And  springing  up,  Eustace  stamped  up  and  down 
the  room,  gnashing  his  teeth,  tossing  his  head  from 
side  to  side,  and  clutching  with  outstretched  hands  at 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBING&.  441 

the  empty  air,  with  the  horrible  gesture  (heaven  grant 
that  no  reader  has  ever  witnessed  it !)  of  that  despair 
which  still  seeks  blindly  for  the  object  which  it  knoAvs 
is  lost  for  ever. 

Amyas  sat  thunderstruck  His  first  impulse  was 
to  ask,  "Lundy?  What  knew  you  of  him?  What 
had  he  or  you  to  do  at  Lundy  f'  but  pity  conquered 
curiosity. 

"  Oh,  Eustace !     And  you  then  loved  her  too "?" 

"  Don't  speak  to  me  !  Loved  her  1  Yes,  sir,  and 
had  as  good  a  right  to  love  her  as  any  one  of  your 
precious  brotherhood  of  the  Eose.  Don't  speak  to 
me,  I  say,  or  I  shall  do  you  a  mischief  ! " 

So  Eustace  knew  of  the  brotherhood  too  !  Amyas 
longed  to  ask  him  how ;  but  what  use  in  that  1  If  he 
knew  it,  he  knew  it ;  and  what  harm  ?  So  he  only 
answered, — 

"  My  good  cousin,  why  be  wroth  with  me  1  If  you 
really  love  her,  now  is  the  time  to  take  counsel  with 
me  how  best  we  shall " 

Eustace  did  not  let  him  finish  his  sentence.  Con- 
scious that  he  had  betrayed  himself  upon  more  points 
than  one,  he  stopped  short  in  his  walk,  suddenly  col- 
lected himself  by  one  great  effort,  and  eyed  Amyas 
from  underneath  his  brows  with  the  old  down  look. 

"  How  best  we  shall  do  what,  my  valiant  cousin  1" 
said  he,  in  a  meaning  and  half  scornful  voice.  "  What 
does  your  most  chivalrous  brotherhood  of  the  Rose 
purpose  in  such  a  case  f 

Amyas,  a  little  nettled,  stood  on  his  guard  in 
return,  and  answered  bluntly, — 


442  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

"What  the  brotherhood  of  the  Rose  will  do,  I 
can't  yet  say.  AVhat  it  ought  to  do,  I  have  a  pretty 
sure  guess." 

"  So  have  I.  To  hunt  her  down  as  you  would  an 
outlaw,  because  forsooth  she  has  dared  to  love  a 
Catholic ;  to  murder  her  lover  in  her  arms,  and  drag 
her  home  again  stained  with  his  blood,  to  be  forced, 
by  threats  and  persecution,  to  renounce  that  church 
into  whose  maternal  bosom  she  has  doubtless  long 
since  found  rest  and  holiness  ! " 

"  If  she  has  found  holiness,  it  matters  little  to  me 
where  she  has  found  it,  Master  Eustace  :  but  that  is  the 
very  point  that  I  should  be  glad  to  know  for  certain." 
"And  you  will  go  and  discover  for  yourself?" 
"  Have  you  no  wish  to  discover  it  also  1" 
"And  if  I  had,  what  would  that  be  to  youf 
"Only,"  said  Amy  as,  trying  hard  to  keep  his  tem- 
per, "  that,  if  we  had  the  same  purpose,  we  might  sail 
in  the  same  ship." 

"  You  intend  to  sail,  then  f 
"I  mean  simply,  that  we  might  work  together." 
"  Our  paths  lie  on  very  different  roads,  sir !" 
"  I  am  afraid  you  never  spoke  a  truer  word,  sir. 
In  the  meanwhile,  ere  we  part,  be  so  kind  as  to  tell 
me  what  you  meant  by  saying  that  you  had  met  this 
Spaniard  at  Lundyf 

"I  shall  refuse  to  answer  that." 
"  You  will  please  to  recollect,  Eustace,  that  however 
good  friends  we  have  been  for  the  last  half-hour,  you 
are  in  my  power.     I  have  a  right  to  know  the  bottom 
of  this  matter;  and,  by  heaven,  I  will  know  it." 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  443 

"In  your  power ^  see  that  you  are  not  in  mine! 
Remember,  sir,  that  you  are  within  a — within  a  few 
miles,  at  least,  of  those  who  will  obey  me,  their 
Catholic  benefactor:  but  who  owe  no  allegiance  to 
those  Protestant  authorities  who  have  left  them  to 
the  lot  of  the  beasts  which  perish." 

Amyas  was  very  angry.  He  wanted  but  little 
more  to  make  him  catch  Eustace  by  the  shoulders, 
shake  the  life  out  of  him,  and  deliver  him  into  the 
tender  guardianship  of  Yeo :  but  he  knew  that  to 
take  him  at  all  was  to  bring  certain  death  on  him, 
and  disgrace  on  the  family ;  and  remembering  Frank's 
conduct  on  that  memorable  night  at  Clovelly,  he  kept 
himself  down. 

"Take  me,"  said  Eustace,  "if  you  will,  sir.  You, 
who  complain  of  us  that  we  keep  no  faith  with  heretics, 
will  perhaps  recollect  that  you  asked  me  into  this 
room  as  your  guest :  and  that  in  your  good  faith  I 
trusted  when  I  entered  it." 

The  argument  was  a  worthless  one  in  law;  for 
Eustace  had  been  a  prisoner  before  he  was  a  guest, 
and  Amyas  was  guilty  of  something  very  like  mis- 
prision of  treason  in  not  handing  him  over  to  the 
nearest  justice.  However,  all  he  did  was,  to  go  to 
the  door,  open  it,  and  bowing  to  his  cousin,  bid  him 
walk  out  and  go  to  the  devil,  since  he  seemed  to  have 
set  his  mind  on  ending  his  days  in  the  company  of 
that  personage. 

Whereon  Eustace  vanished. 

"Pooh !"  said  Amyas  to  himself:  "I  can  find  out 
enough,  and  too  much,  I  fear,  without  the  help  of 


444  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

such  crooked  vermin.  I  must  see  Gary ;  I  must  see 
Salteme ;  and  I  suppose,  if  I  am  ready  to  do  my  duty, 
I  shall  learn  somehow  what  it  is.  Now  to  sleep  ; 
to-morrow  up  and  away  to  what  God  sends. " 

"Gome  in  hither,  men,"  shouted  he  down  the  pass- 
age, "and  sleep  here.  Haven't  you  had  enough  of 
this  villanous  sour  cider?" 

The  men  came  in  yawning,  and  settled  themselves 
to  sleep  on  the  floor. 

"Where's  Yeof' 

No  one  knew ;  he  had  gone  out  to  say  his  prayers, 
and  had  not  returned. 

"Never  mind,"  said  Amyas,  who  suspected  some 
plot  on  the  old  man's  part.  "  He'll  take  care  of  him- 
self, I'll  warrant  him." 

"No  fear  of  that,  sir;"  and  the  four  tars  were 
soon  snoring  in  concert  round  the  fire,  while  Amyas 
laid  himself  on  the  settle,  with  his  saddle  for  a  pillow. 

It  was  about  midnight,  when  Amyas  leaped  to  his 
feet,  or  rather  fell  upon  his  back,  upsetting  saddle, 
settle,  and  finally,  table,  under  the  notion  that  ten 
thousand  flying  dragons  were  bursting  in  the  window 
close  to  his  ear,  with  howls  most  fierce  and  fell.  The 
flying  dragons  past,  however,  being  only  a  flock  of 
terror-stricken  geese,  which  flew  flapping  and  scream- 
ing round  the  corner  of  the  house :  but  the  noise  which 
had  startled  them  did  not  pass ;  and  another  minute 
made  it  evident  that  a  sharp  fight  was  going  on  in  the 
courtyard,  and  that  Yeo  was  hallooing  lustily  for  help. 

Out  turned  the  men,  sword  in  hand,  burst  the  back 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  445 

door  open,  stumbling  over  pails  and  pitchers,  and 
into  the  courtyard,  where  Yeo,  his  back  against  the 
stable-door,  was  holding  his  own  manfully  with  sword 
and  buckler  against  a  dozen  men. 

Dire  and  manifold  was  the  screaming;  geese 
screamed,  chickens  screamed,  pigs  screamed,  donkeys 
screamed,  Mary  screamed  from  an  upper  window; 
and  to  complete  the  chorus,  a  flock  of  plovers,  attracted 
by  the  noise,  wheeled  round  and  round  over  head, 
and  added  their  screams  also  to  that  Dutch  concert. 

The  screaming  went  on,  but  the  fight  ceased ;  for, 
as  Amyas  rushed  into  the  yard,  the  whole  party  of 
ruffians  took  to  their  heels,  and  vanished  over  a  low 
hedge  at  the  other  end  of  the  yard. 

"Are  you  hurt,  Yeol" 

"  Not  a  scratch,  thank  Heaven  !  But  I've  got  two 
of  them,  the  ringleaders,  I  have.  One  of  them's 
against  the  wall.     Your  horse  did  for  t'other." 

The  wounded  man  was  lifted  up ;  a  huge  ruffian, 
nearly  as  big  as  Amyas  himself.  Yeo's  sword  had 
passed  through  his  body.  He  groaned  and  choked 
for  breath. 

"Carry  him  in-doors.     Where  is  the  other  1" 

"  Dead  as  a  herring,  in  the  straw.  Have  a  care, 
men,  have  a  care  how  you  go  in  !  the  horses  are  near 
mad!" 

However,  the  man  was  brought  out  after  a  while. 
With  him  all  was  over.  They  could  feel  neither  pulse 
nor  breath. 

"  Carry  him  in  too,  poor  wretch.  And  now,  Yeo, 
what  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?" 


446  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

Yeo's  story  was  soon  told.  He  could  not  get  out 
of  his  Puritan  head  the  notion  (quite  unfounded,  of 
course)  that  Eustace  had  meant  to  steal  the  horses. 
He  had  seen  the  innkeeper  sneak  off  at  their  approach ; 
and  expecting  some  night-attack,  he  had  taken  up  his 
lodging  for  the  night  in  the  stable. 

As  he  expected,  an  attempt  was  made.  The  door 
was  opened  (how,  he  could  not  guess,  for  he  had 
fastened  it  inside),  and  two  fellows  came  in,  and  began 
to  loose  the  beasts.  Yeo's  account  was,  that  he  seized 
the  big  fellow,  who  drew  a  knife  on  him,  and  broke 
loose ;  the  horses,  terrified  at  the  scuffle,  kicked  right 
and  left ;  one  man  fell,  and  the  other  ran  out,  calling 
for  help,  with  Yeo  at  his  heels;  "Whereon,"  said 
Yeo,  "seeing  a  dozen  more  on  me  with  clubs  and 
bows,  I  thought  best  to  shorten  the  number  while  I 
could,  ran  the  rascal  through,  and  stood  on  my  ward ; 
and  only  just  in  time  I  was,  what's  more ;  there's  two 
arrows  in  the  house  wall,  and  two  or  three  more  in 
my  buckler,  which  I  caught  up  as  I  went  out,  for  I 
had  hung  it  close  by  the  door,  you  see,  sir,  to  be  all 
ready  in  case  :"  said  the  cunning  old  Philistine-slayer, 
as  they  went  in  after  the  wounded  man. 

But  hardly  had  they  stumbled  through  the  low  door- 
way into  the  back-kitchen  when  a  fresh  hubbub  arose 
inside — more  shouts  for  help.  Amyas  ran  forward, 
breaking  his  head  against  the  doorway,  and  beheld,  as 
soon  as  he  could  see  for  the  flashes  in  his  eyes,  an  old 
acquaintance,  held  on  each  side  by  a  sturdy  sailor. 

With  one  arm  in  the  sleeve  of  his  doublet,  and  the 
other  in  a  not  over  spotless  shirt ;  holding  up  his  hose 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  447 

with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  a  candle,  whereby 
he  had  lighted  himself  to  his  own  confusion ;  foaming 
with  rage,  stood  Mr.  Evan  Morgans,  alias  Father 
Parsons,  looking,  between  his  confused  habiliments 
and  his  fiery  visage  (as  Yeo  told  him  to  his  face),  "the 
very  moral  of  a  half -plucked  turkey-cock."  And 
behind  him,  dressed,  stood  Eustace  Leigh. 

"We  found  the  maid  letting  these  here  two  out 
by  the  front  door,"  said  one  of  the  captors. 

"Well,  Mr.  Parsons,"  said  Amyas;  "and  what  are 
you  about  here  1  A  pretty  nest  of  thieves  and  Jesuits 
we  seem  to  have  routed  out  this  evening." 

"About  my  calling,  sir,"  said  Parsons,  stoutly. 
"By  your  leave,  I  shall  prepare  this  my  wounded 
lamb  for  that  account  to  which  your  man's  cruelty 
has  untimely  sent  him." 

The  wounded  man,  who  lay  upon  the  floor,  heard 
Parson's  voice,  and  moaned  for  the  "Patrico." 

"You  see,  sir,"  said  he  pompously,  "the  sheep 
know  their  shepherd's  voice." 

"The  wolves  you  mean,  you  hypocritical  scoun- 
drel ! "  said  Amyas,  who  could  not  contain  his  disgust. 
"  Let  the  fellow  truss  up  his  points,  lads,  and  do  his 
work.     After  all,  the  man  is  dying." 

"The  requisite  matters,  sir,  are  not  at  hand,"  said 
Parsons,  unabashed. 

"  Eustace,  go  and  fetch  his  matters  for  him ;  you 
seem  to  be  in  all  his  plots." 

Eustace  went  silently  and  sullenly. 

"What's  that  fresh  noise  at  the  back,  nowf 

"The   maid,   sir,  a  wailing  over  her  uncle;   the 


448  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

fellow  that  we  saw  sneak  away  when  we  came  up.     It 
was  him  the  horse  killed." 

It  was  true.  The  wretched  host  had  slipped  off 
on  their  approach,  simply  to  call  the  neighbouring 
outlaws  to  the  spoil ;  and  he  had  been  filled  with  the 
fruit  of  his  own  devices. 

"  His  blood  be  on  his  own  head,"  said  Amyas. 

"I  question,  sir,"  said  Yeo,  in  a  low  voice, 
"whether  some  of  it  will  not  be  on  the  heads  of  those 
proud  prelates  who  go  clothed  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  instead  of  going  forth  to  convert  such  as  he, 
and  then  wonder  how  these  Jesuits  get  hold  of  them. 
If  they  give  place  to  the  devil  in  their  sheepfolds, 
sure  he'll  come  in  and  lodge  there.  Look,  sir,  there's 
a  sight  in  a  gospel  land  ! " 

And,  indeed,  the  sight  was  curious  enough.  For 
Parsons  was  kneeling  by  the  side  of  the  dying  man, 
listening  earnestly  to  the  confession  which  the  man 
sobbed  out  in  his  gibberish,  between  the  spasms  of  his 
wounded  chest.  Now  and  then  Parsons  shook  his 
head;  and  when  Eustace  returned  with  the  holy 
wafer,  and  the  oil  for  extreme  unction,  he  asked  him, 
in  a  low  voice,  "Ballard,  interpret  for  me." 

And  Eustace  knelt  down  on  the  other  side  of  the 
sufferer,  and  interpreted  his  thieves'  dialect  into 
Latin ;  and  the  d3dng  man  held  a  hand  of  each,  and 
turned  first  to  one  and  then  to  the  other  stupid  eyes, 
— not  without  affection,  though,  and  gratitude. 

"I  can't  stand  this  mummery  any  longer,"  said 
Yeo.  "  Here's  a  soul  perishing  before  my  eyes,  and 
it's  on  my  conscience  to  speak  a  word  in  season." 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  449 

"Silence!"  whispered  Amy  as,  holding  him  back 
by  the  arm;  "he  knows  them,  and  he  don't  know 
you ;  they  are  the  first  who  ever  spoke  to  him  as  if 
he  had  a  soul  to  be  saved,  and  first  come,  first  served ; 
you  can  do  no  good.  See,  the  man's  face  is  brighten- 
ing already." 

"But,  sir,  'tis  a  false  peace." 

"  At  all  events  he  is  confessing  his  sins,  Yeo ;  and 
if  that's  not  good  for  him,  and  you,  and  me,  what  isf 

"  Yea,  Amen !  sir ;  but  this  is  not  to  the  right 
person." 

"  How  do  you  know  his  words  will  not  go  to  the 
right  person  after  all,  though  he  may  not  send  them 
there  ^    By  heaven  !  the  man  is  dead  ! " 

It  was  so.  The  dark  catalogue  of  brutal  deeds  had 
been  gasped  out;  but  ere  the  words  of  absolution 
could  follow,  the  head  had  fallen  back,  and  all  was 
over. 

"Confession  in  extremis  is  sufficient,"  said  Parsons 
to  Eustace  ("Ballard,"  as  Parsons  called  him,  to 
Amyas's  surprise),  as  he  rose.  "  As  for  the  rest,  the 
intention  will  be  accepted  instead  of  the  act." 

"The  Lord  have  mercy  on  his  soul!"  said  Eustace. 

"His  soul  is  lost  before  our  very  eyes,"  said  Yeo. 

"Mind  your  own  business,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Humph ;  but  I'll  tell  you,  sir,  what  our  business 
is,  if  you'll  step  aside  with  me.  I  find  that  poor  fellow 
that  lies  dead  is  none  other  than  the  leader  of  the 
Gubbings;  the  king  of  them,  as  they  dare  to  call  him." 

"Well,  what  of  that?" 

"  Mark  my  words,  sir,  if  we  have  not  a  hundred 
VOL.  L  2  G  w.  H. 


450  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

stout  rogues  upon  us  before  two  hours  are  out ;  for- 
give us  th^y  never  will ;  and  if  we  get  off  with  our 
lives,  which  I  don't  much  expect,  we  shall  leave  our 
horses  behind;  for  we  can  hold  the  house,  sir,  well 
enough  till  morning :  but  the  courtyard  we  can't, 
that's  certain ! " 

"We  had  better  march  at  once,  then." 

"  Think,  sir ;  if  they  catch  us  up — as  they  are  sure 
to  do,  knowing  the  country  better  than  we — how  will 
our  shot  stand  their  arrows?" 

"  True,  old  wisdom ;  we  must  keep  the  road ;  and 
we  must  keep  together ;  and  so  be  a  mark  for  them, 
while  they  will  be  behind  every  rock  and  bank ;  and 
two  or  three  flights  of  arrows  will  do  our  business  for 
us.  Humph!  stay,  I  have  a  plan."  And  stepping 
forward  he  spoke — 

"Eustace,  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  go  back  to 
your  lambs ;  and  tell  them,  that  if  they  meddle  with 
us  cruel  wolves  again  to-night,  we  are  ready  and  willing 
to  fight  to  the  death,  and  have  plenty  of  shot  and  pow- 
der at  their  service.  Father  Parsons,  you  will  be  so 
kind  as  to  accompany  us ;  it  is  but  fitting  that  the 
shepherd  should  be  hostage  for  his  sheep." 

"  If  you  carry  me  off'  this  spot,  sir,  you  carry  my 
corpse  only,"  said  Parsons.  "I  may  as  well  die  here 
as  be  hanged  elsewhere,  like  my  martyred  brother 
Campian." 

"If  you  take  him,  you  must  take  me  too,"  said 
Eustace. 

"Whatif  we  won't  f 

"How  will  you  gain  by  that*?  you  can  only  leave 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  451 

me  here.  You  cannot  make  me  go  to  the  Gubbings, 
if  I  do  not  choose." 

Amyas  uttered,  sotto  voce,  an  anathema  on  Jesuits, 
Gubbings,  and  things  in  general.  He  was  in  a  great 
hurry  to  get  to  Bideford,  and  he  feared  that  this  busi- 
ness would  delay  him,  as  it  was,  a  day  or  two.  He 
wanted  to  hang  Parsons :  he  did  not  want  to  hang 
Eustace;  and  Eustace,  he  knew,  was  well  aware  of 
that  latter  fact,  and  played  his  game  accordingly  :  but 
time  ran  on,  and  he  had  to  answer  sulkily  enough — 

"  Well  then ;  if  you,  Eustace,  will  go  and  give  my 
message  to  your  converts,  I  will  promise  to  set  Mr. 
Parsons  free  again  before  we  come  to  Lydford  town ; 
and  I  advise  you,  if  you  have  any  regard  for  his  life, 
to  see  that  your  eloquence  be  persuasive  enough ;  for 
as  sure  as  I  am  an  Englishman,  and  he  none,  if  the 
Gubbings  attack  us,  the  first  bullet  that  I  shall  fire  at 
them  will  have  gone  through  his  scoundrelly  brains." 

Parsons  still  kicked. 

"Very  well,  then,  my  merry  men  all.  Tie  this 
gentleman's  hands  behind  his  back,  get  the  horses  out, 
and  we'll  right  away  up  into  Dartmoor,  find  a  good 
high  tor,  stand  our  ground  there  till  morning,  and 
then  carry  him  into  Okehampton  to  the  nearest  justice. 
If  he  chooses  to  delay  me  in  my  journey,  it  is  fair  that 
I  should  make  him  pay  for  it." 

Whereon  Parsons  gave  in,  and  being  fast  tied  by 
his  arm  to  Amyas's  saddle,  trudged  alongside  his  horse 
for  several  weary  miles,  while  Yeo  walked  by  his  side, 
like  a  friar  by  a  condemned  criminal ;  and  in  order  to 
keep  up  his  spirits,  told  him  the  woful  end  of  Nicholas 


452  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

Saunders  the  Legate,  and  how  he  was  found  starved 
to  death  in  a  bog. 

"  And  if  you  wish,  sir,  to  follow  in  his  blessed  steps, 
which  I  heartily  hope  you  will  do,  you  have  only  to  go 
over  that  big  cow-backed  hill  there  on  your  right  hand, 
and  down  again  the  other  side  to  Crawmere  pool,  and 
there  you'll  find  as  pretty  a  bog  to  die  in  as  ever 
Jesuit  needed :  and  your  ghost  may  sit  there  on  a 
grass  tummock,  and  tell  your  beads  without  any  one 
asking  for  you  till  the  day  of  judgment ;  and  much 
good  may  it  do  you ! " 

At  which  imagination  Yeo  was  actually  heard,  for 
the  first  and  last  time  in  this  history,  to  laugh  most 
heartily. 

His  ho-ho's  had  scarcely  died  away,  when  they  saw 
shining  under  the  moon  the  old  tower  of  Lydford 
Castle. 

"  Cast  the  fellow  off"  now,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir ! "  and  Yeo  and  Simon  Evans  stopped 
behind,  and  did  not  come  up  for  ten  minutes  after. 

"What  have  you  been  about  so  long?" 

"Why,  sir,"  said  Evans,  "you  see  the  man  had  a 
very  fair  pair  of  hose  on,  and  a  bran-new  kersey 
doublet,  very  warm-lined ;  and  so,  thinking  it  a  pity 
good  clothes  should  be  wasted  on  such  noxious  trade, 
we've  just  brought  them  along  with  us." 

"  Spoiling  the  Egyptians,"  said  Yeo  as  comment. 

"And  what  have  you  done  with  the  manf 

"Hove  him  over  the  bank,  sir;  he  pitched  into 
a  big  furze-bush,  and  for  aught  I  know,  there  he'll 
bide." 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  453 

"You  rascal,  have  you  killed  himf 

"Never  fear,  sir,"  said  Yeo,  in  his  cool  fashion. 
"  A  Jesuit  has  as  many  lives  as  a  cat,  and,  I  believe, 
rides  broomsticks  post,  like  a  witch.  He  would  be  at 
Lydford  now  before  us,  if  his  master  Satan  had  any 
business  for  him  there." 

Leaving  on  their  left  Lydford  and  its  ill-omened 
castle  (which,  a  century  after,  was  one  of  the  princi- 
pal scenes  of  Judge  JefFreys's  cruelty),  Amyas  and  his 
party  trudged  on  through  the  mire  toward  Okehampton 
till  sunrise ;  and  ere  the  vapours  had  lifted  from  the 
mountain  tops,  they  were  descending  the  long  slopes 
from  Sourton  down,  while  Yestor  and  Amicombe  slept 
steep  and  black  beneath  their  misty  pall ;  and  roaring 
far  below  unseen, 

"  Ockment  leapt  from  crag  and  cloud 
Down  her  cataracts,  laughing  loud." 

The  voice  of  the  stream  recalled  these  words  to 
Amyas's  mind.  The  nymph  of  Torridge  had  spoken 
them  upon  the  day  of  his  triumph.  He  recollected, 
too,  his  vexation  on  that  day  at  not  seeing  Eose 
Salterne.  Why,  he  had  never  seen  her  since.  Never 
seen  her  now  for  six  years  and  more  !  Of  her  ripened 
beauty  he  knew  only  by  hearsay ;  she  was  still  to  him 
the  lovely  fifteen  years'  girl,  for  whose  sake  he  had 
smitten  the  Barnstaple  draper  over  the  quay.  What 
a  chain  of  petty  accidents  had  kept  them  from  meet- 
ing, though  so  often  within  a  mile  of  each  other! 
"And  what  a  lucky  one!"  said  practical  old  Amyas 
to  himself.  "  If  I  had  seen  her  as  she  is  now,  I  might 
have  loved  her  as  Frank  does — poor  Frank !  what  will 


454  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

he  say*?  What  does  he  say,  for  he  must  know  it 
already  1  And  what  ought  I  to  say — to  do  rather,  for 
talking  is  no  use  on  this  side  tha  grave,  nor  on  the 
other  either,  I  expect?"  And  then  he  asked  himself, 
whether  his  old  oath  meant  nothing  or  something; 
whether  it  was  a  mere  tavern  frolic,  or  a  sacred  duty. 
And  he  held,  the  more  that  he  looked  at  it,  that  it 
meant  the  latter. 

But  what  could  he  do  'i  He  had  nothing  on  earth 
but  his  sword,  so  he  could  not  travel  to  find  her. 
After  all,  she  might  not  be  gone  far.  Perhaps  not 
gone  at  all.  It  might  be  a  mistake,  an  exaggerated 
scandal.  He  would  hope  so.  And  yet  it  was  evident 
that  there  had  been  some  passages  between  her  and 
Don  Guzman,  Eustace's  mysterious  words  about  the 
promise  at  Lundy  proved  that.  The  villain !  He  had 
felt  all  along  that  he  was  a  villain :  but  just  the  one 
to  win  a  woman's  heart,  too.  Frank  had  been  away 
— all  the  brotherhood  away.  What  a  fool  he  had 
been,  to  turn  the  wolf  loose  into  the  sheepfold !  And 
yet  who  would  have  dreamed  of  it  ?  .  .  . 

"At  all  events,"  said  Amyas,  trying  to  comfort 
himself,  "  I  need  not  complain.  I  have  lost  nothing. 
I  stood  no  more  chance  of  her  against  Frank  than  I 
should  have  stood  against  the  Don.  So  there  is  no 
use  for  me  to  cry  about  the  matter."  And  he  tried 
to  hum  a  tune  concerning  the  general  frailty  of 
women,  but  nevertheless,  like  Sir  Hugh,  felt  that 
"he  had  a  great  disposition  to  cry." 

He  never  had  expected  to  win  her,  and  yet  it 
seemed  bitter  to  know  that  she  was  lost  to  him  for 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  455 

ever.  •  It  was  not  so  easy  for  a  heart  of  his  make  to 
toss  away  the  image  of  a  first  love ;  and  all  the  less 
easy,  because  that  image  was  stained  and  ruined. 

"  Curses  on  the  man  who  had  done  that  deed  !  I 
will  yet  have  his  heart's  blood  somehow,  if  I  go  round 
the  world  again  to  find  him.  If  there's  no  law  for  it 
on  earth,  there's  law  in  heaven,  or  I'm  much  mis- 
taken." 

With  which  determination  he  rode  into  the  ugly, 
dirty,  and  stupid  town  of  Okehampton,  with  which 
fallen  man  (by  some  strange  perversity)  has  chosen  to 
defile  one  of  the  loveliest  sites  in  the  pleasant  land  of 
Devon.  And  heartily  did  Amyas  abuse  the  old  town 
that  day ;  for  he  was  detained  there,  as  he  expected, 
full  three  hours,  while  the  Justice  Shallow  of  the 
place  was  sent  for  from  his  farm  (whither  he  had  gone 
at  sunrise,  after  the  early-rising  fashion  of  those  days) 
to  take  Yeo's  deposition  concerning  last  night's  affray. 
Moreover,  when  Shallow  came,  he  refused  to  take  the 
depositions,  because  they  ought  to  have  been  made 
before  a  brother  Shallow  at  Lydford;  and  in  the 
wrangling  which  ensued,  was  very  near  finding  out 
what  Amyas  (fearing  fresh  loss  of  time  and  worse 
evils  beside)  had  commanded  to  be  concealed,  namely, 
the  presence  of  Jesuits  in  that  Moorland  Utopia. 
Then,  in  broadest  Devon, — 

"  And  do  you  call  this  Christian  conduct,  sir,  to  set 
a  quiet  man  like  me  upon  they  Gubbings,  as  if  I  was 
going  to  risk  my  precious  life — no,  nor  ever  a  constable 
to  Okehampton  neither?  Let  Lydfor'  men  mind 
Lydfor'  roogs,  and  by  Lydfor'  law  if  they  will,  hang 


456  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

first  and  try  after ;  but  as  for  me,  I've  rade  my  Bible, 
and  *He  that  meddleth  with  strife  is  like  him  that 
taketh  a  dog  by  the  ears.'  So  if  you  choose  to  sit 
down  and  ate  your  breakfast  with  me,  well  and  good : 
but  depositions  I'll  have  none.  If  your  man  is  en- 
quired for,  you'll  be  answerable  for  his  appearing,  in 
course ;  but  I  expect  mortally  "  (with  a  wink),  "  you 
waint  hear  much  more  of  the  matter  from  any  hand. 
*  Leave  well  alone  is  a  good  rule,  but  leave  ill  alone 
is  a  better.' — So  we  says  round  about  here ;  and  so 
you'll  say,  captain,  when  you  be  so  old  as  I." 

So  Amyas  sat  down  and  ate  his  breakfast,  and 
went  on  afterwards  a  long  and  weary  day's  journey, 
till  he  saw  at  last  beneath  him  the  broad  shining 
river,  and  the  long  bridge  and  the  white  houses  piled 
up  the  hill -side;  and  beyond,  over  Ealeigh  downs, 
the  dear  old  tower  of  Northam  Church. 

Alas,  Northam  was  altogether  a  desert  to  him 
then ;  and  Bideford,  as  it  turned  out,  hardly  less  so. 
For  when  he  rode  up  to  Sir  Eichard's  door,  he  found 
that  the  good  Knight  was  still  in  Ireland,  and  Lady 
Grenvile  at  Stow.  Whereupon  he  rode  back  again 
down  the  High  Street  to  that  same  bow-windowed 
Ship  Tavern  where  the  brotherhood  of  the  Rose  made 
their  vow,  and  settled  himself  in  the  very  room  where 
they  had  supped. 

"Ah!  Mr.  Leigh — Captain  Leigh  now,  I  beg 
pardon,"  quoth  mine  host.  "Bideford  is  an  empty 
place  now-a-days,  and  nothing  stirring,  sir.  What 
with  Sir  Richard  to  Ireland,  and  Sir  John  to  London, 
and  all  the  young  gentlemen  to  the  wars,  there's  no 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  457 

one  to  buy  good  liquor,  and  no  one  to  court  the  young 
ladies,  neither.  Sack,  sir'?  I  hope  so.  I  haven't 
brewed  a  gallon  of  it  this  fortnight,  if  you'll  believe 
me ;  ale,  sir,  and  aqua  vitse,  and  such  low-bred  trade, 
is  all  I  draw  now-a-days.  Try  a  pint  of  sherry,  sir, 
now,  to  give  you  an  appetite.  You  mind  my  sherry 
of  old  1  Jane  !  Sherry  and  sugar,  quick,  while  I  pull 
off  the  Captain's  boots." 

Amyas  sat  weary  and  sad,  while  the  innkeeper 
chattered  on. 

"Ah,  sir!  two  or  three  like  you  would  set  the 
young  ladies  all  alive  again.  By-the-by,  there's  been 
strange  doings  among  them  since  you  were  here  last. 
You  mind  Mistress  Salternef 

"For  God's  sake,  don't  let  us  have  that  story, 
man !  I  heard  enough  of  it  at  Plymouth ! "  said 
Amyas,  in  so  disturbed  a  tone  that  mine  host  looked 
up,  and  said  to  himself — 

"  Ah,  poor  young  gentleman,  he's  one  of  the  hard- 
hit  ones." 

"How  is  the  old  mani"  asked  Amyas,  after  a 
pause. 

"Bears  it  well  enough,  sir;  but  a  changed  man. 
Never  speaks  to  a  soul,  if  he  can  help  it.  Some  folk 
say  he's  not  right  in  his  head;  or  turned  miser,  or 
somewhat,  and  takes  nought  but  bread  and  water,  and 
sits  up  all  night  in  the  room  as  was  hers,  turning  over 
her  garments.  Heaven  knows  what's  on  his  mind  — 
they  do  say  he  was  over  hard  on  her,  and  that  drove 
her  to  it.  All  I  know  is,  he  has  never  been  in  here 
for  a  drop  of  liquor  (and  he  came  as  regular  every 


458  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

evening  as  the  town  clock,  sir)  since  she  went,  except 
a  ten  days  ago,  and  then  he  met  young  Mr.  Gary  at 
the  door,  and  I  heard  him  ask  Mr.  Gary  when  you 
would  be  home,  sir." 

"  Put  on  my  boots  again.     I'll  go  and  see  him" 

"  Bless  you,  sir  !     What,  without  your  sack  ?" 

"Drink  it  yourself,  man." 

"  But  you  wouldn't  go  out  again  this  time  o'  night 
on  an  empty  stomach,  nowf 

"  Fill  my  men's  stomachs  for  them,  and  never  mind 
mine.  It's  market-day,  is  it  not  1  Send  out,  and  see 
whether  Mr.  Gary  is  still  in  town ;"  and  Amyas  strode 
out,  and  along  the  quay  to  Bridgeland  Street,  and 
knocked  at  Mr.  Salterne's  door. 

Salteme  himself  opened  it,  with  his  usual  stern 
courtesy. 

"  I  saw  you  coming  up  the  street,  sir.  I  have  been 
expecting  this  honour  from  you  for  some  time  past. 
I  dreamt  of  you  only  last  night,  and  many  a  night 
before  that  too.  Welcome,  sir,  into  a  lonely  house. 
I  trust  the  good  knight  your  general  is  well." 

"  The  good  knight  my  general  is  with  God  who 
made  him,  Mr.  Salteme." 

"Dead,  sirf 

"Foundered  at  sea  on  our  way  home;  and  the 
Delight  lost  too." 

"Humph!"  growled  Salterne,  after  a  minute's 
silence.  "I  had  a  venture  in  her.  I  suppose  it's 
gone.  No  matter — I  can  afford  it,  sir,  and  more,  I 
trust.  And  he  was  three  years  younger  than  I ! 
And  Draper  Heard  was  buried  yesterday,  five  years 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  459 

younger. — How  is  it  that  every  one  can  die,  except 
me?  Come  in,  sir,  come  in;  I  have  forgotten  my 
manners." 

And  he  led  Amyas  into  his  parlour,  and  called  to 
the  apprentices  to  run  one  way,  and  to  the  cook  to 
run  another. 

"  You  must  not  trouble  yourself  to  get  me  supper, 
indeed." 

"I  must  though,  sir,  and  the  best  of  wine  too; 
and  old  Salterne  had  a  good  tap  of  Alicant  in  old 
time,  old  time,  old  time,  sir !  and  you  must  drink  it 
now,  whether  he  does  or  not ! "  and  out  he  bustled. 

Amyas  sat  still,  wondering  what  was  coming  next, 
and  puzzled  at  the  sudden  hilarity  of  the  man,  as  well 
as  his  hospitality,  so  different  from  what  the  innkeeper 
had  led  him  to  expect. 

In  a  minute  more  one  of  the  apprentices  came  in 
to  lay  the  cloth,  and  Amyas  questioned  him  about  his 
master. 

"Thank  the  Lord  that  you  are  come,  sir,"  said 
the  lad. 

"Why,  then!" 

"Because  there'll  be  a  chance  of  us  poor  fellows 
getting  a  little  broken  meat.  We'm  half-starved  this 
three  months — bread  and  dripping,  bread  and  drip- 
ping, oh  dear,  sir !  And  now  he's  sent  out  to  the  inn 
for  chickens,  and  game,  and  salads,  and  all  that  money 
can  buy,  and  down  in  the  cellar  haling  out  the  best 
of  wine." — And  the  lad  smacked  his  lips  audibly  at 
the  thought. 

"Is  he  out  of  his  mind*?" 


460  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

"  I  can't  tell ;  he  saith  as  how  he  must  save  mun's 
money  now-a-days ;  for  he've  a  got  a  great  venture  on 
hand  :  but  what  a  be  he  tell'th  no  man.  They  call'th 
mun  'bread  and  dripping'  now,  sir,  all  town  over," 
said  the  prentice,  confidentially,  to  Amyas. 

"They  do,  do  they,  sirrah'?  Then  they  will  call 
me  bread  and  no  dripping  to-morrow  ! "  and  old  Sal- 
teme,  entering  from  behind,  made  a  dash  at  the  poor 
fellow's  ears :  but  luckily  thought  better  of  it,  having 
a  couple  of  bottles  in  each  hand. 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "you  don't  mean  us 
to  drink  all  that  wine  V 

"Why  not,  sir?"  answered  Salterne,  in  a  grim, 
half -sneering  tone,  thrusting  out  his  square -grizzled 
beard  and  chin.  "  Why  not,  sir  1  why  should  I  not 
make  merry  when  I  have  the  honour  of  a  noble  cap- 
tain in  my  house  1  one  who  has  sailed  the  seas,  sir, 
and  cut  Spaniards'  throats ;  and  may  cut  them  again 
too ;  eh,  sir  ?    Boy,  where's  the  kettle  and  the  sugar  V 

"What  on  earth  is  the  man  atf'  quoth  Amyas  to 
himself — "flattering  me,  or  laughing  at  mef 

"  Yes,"  he  ran  on,  half  to  himself,  in  a  deliberate 
tone,  evidently  intending  to  hint  more  than  he  said, 
as  he  began  brewing  the  sack — in  plain  English,  hot 
negus ;  "  Yes,  bread  and  dripping  for  those  who  can't 
fight  Spaniards ;  but  the  best  that  money  can  buy  for 

those  who  can.     I  heard  of  you  at  Smerwick,  sir, 

Yes,  bread  and  dripping  for  me  too — I  can't  fight 
Spaniards :  but  for  such  as  you.  Look  here,  sir ;  I 
should  like  to  feed  a  crew  of  such  up,  as  you'd  feed  a 
main  of  fighting-cocks,  and  then  start  them  with  a 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  461 

pair  of  Sheffield  spurs  a-piece — you've  a  good  one 
there  to  your  side,  sir:  but  don't  you  think  a  man 
might  carry  two  now,  and  fight  as  they  say  those 
Chineses  do,  a  sword  to  each  hand  1  You  could  kill 
more  that  way.  Captain  Leigh,  I  reckon  V 

Amyas  half  laughed. 

"  One  "will  do,  Mr.  Salterne,  if  one  is  quick  enough 
with  it." 

"Humph? — Ah — No  use  being  in  a  hurry.  I 
haven't  been  in  a  hurry.  No — I  waited  for  you ;  and 
here  you  are  and  welcome,  sir  !  Here  comes  supper : 
a  light  matter,  sir,  you  see.  A  capon  and  a  brace  of 
partridges.  I  had  no  time  to  feast  you  as  you 
deserve." 

And  so  he  ran  on  all  supper-time,  hardly  allowing 
Amyas  to  get  a  word  in  edge-ways  :  but  heaping  him 
with  coarse  flattery,  and  urging  him  to  drink,  till  after 
the  cloth  was  drawn,  and  the  two  left  alone,  he  grew 
so  outrageous  that  Amyas  was  forced  to  take  him  to 
task  good-humouredly. 

"  Now,  my  dear  sir,  you  have  feasted  me  royaUy, 
and  better  far  than  I  deserve :  but  why  will  you  go 
about  to  make  me  drunk  twice  over,  first  with  vain- 
glory, and  then  with  wine  V 

Salterne  looked  at  him  awhile  fixedly,  and  then, 
sticking  out  his  chin — "  Because,  Captain  Leigh,  I  am 
a  man  who  has  all  his  life  tried  the  crooked  road  first, 
and  found  the  straight  one  the  safer  after  all." 

"Eh,  sir?  That  is  a  strange  speech  for  one  who 
bears  the  character  of  the  most  upright  man  in  Bide- 
ford." 


462  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

"Humph.  So  I  thought  myself  once,  sir;  and 
well  I  have  proved  it.  But  111  be  plain  with  you, 
sir.  You've  heard  how — how  I've  fared  since  you 
saw  me  lastf 

Amyas  nodded  his  head. 

"I  thought  so.  Shame  rides  post.  Now  then, 
Captain  Leigh,  listen  to  me.  I,  being  a  plain  man 
and  a  burgher,  and  one  that  never  drew  iron  in  my 
life  except  to  mend  a  pen,  ask  you,  being  a  gentleman 
and  a  captain  and  a  man  of  honour,  with  a  weapon  to 
your  side,  and  harness  to  your  back — what  would  you 
do  in  my  place  f 

"Humph!"  said  Amyas,  "that  would  very  much 
depend  on  whether  '  my  place '  was  my  own  fault  or 
not." 

"And  what  if  it  were,  sir^  What  if  all  that  the 
charitable  folks  of  Bideford — (Heaven  reward  them 
for  their  tender  mercies  !) — have  been  telling  you  in 
the  last  hour  be  true,  sir, — true !  and  yet  not  haK  the 
truth?" 

Amyas  gave  a  start. 

"  Ah,  you  shrink  from  me !  Of  course  a  man  is 
too  righteous  to  forgive  those  who  repent,  though 
God  is  not." 

"  God  knows,  sir " 

"Yes,  sir,  God  does  know — all;  and  you  shall 
know  a  little — as  much  as  I  can  tell — or  you  under- 
stand. Come  up-stairs  with  me,  sir,  as  you'll  drink 
no  more ;  I  have  a  liking  for  you.  I  have  watched 
you  from  your  boyhood,  and  I  can  trust  you,  and  I'll 
show  you  what  I  never  showed  to  mortal  man  but  one." 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  463 

And,  taking  up  a  candle,  he  led  the  way  up-stairs, 
while  Amyas  followed  wondering. 

He  stopped  at  a  door,  and  unlocked  it. 

"There,  come  in.  Those  shutters  have  not  been 
opened  since  she "  and  the  old  man  was  silent. 

Amyas  looked  round  the  room.  It  was  a  low 
wainscoted  room,  such  as  one  sees  in  old  houses : 
everything  was  in  the  most  perfect  neatness.  The 
snow-white  sheets  on  the  bed  were  turned  down  as  if 
ready  for  an  occupant.  There  were  books  arranged 
on  the  shelves,  fresh  flowers  on  the  table ;  the  dress- 
ing-table had  all  its  woman's  mundus  of  pins,  and 
rings,  and  brushes ;  even  the  dressing-gown  lay  over 
the  chair-back.  Everything  was  evidently  just  as  it 
had  been  left. 

"This  was  her  room,  sir,"  whispered  the  old  man. 

Amyas  nodded  silently,  and  half  drew  back. 

"  You  need  not  be  modest  about  entering  it  now, 
sir,"  whispered  he,  with  a  sort  of  sneer.  "  There  has 
been  no  frail  flesh  and  blood  in  it  for  many  a  day." 

Amyas  sighed. 

"  I  sweep  it  out  myself  every  morning,  and  keep 
all  tidy.  See  here ! "  and  he  pulled  open  a  drawer. 
"  Here  are  all  her  gowns,  and  there  are  her  hoods ; 
and  there — I  know  'em  all  by  heart  now,  and  the 
place  of  every  one.     And  there,  sir, " 

And  he  opened  a  cupboard,  where  lay  in  rows  all 
Rose's  dolls,  and  the  worn-out  playthings  of  her  child- 
hood. 

"  That's  the  pleasantest  place  of  all  in  the  room  to 
mc,"  said  he,  whispering  still :  "for  it  minds  me  of 


464  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

when — and  maybe,  she  may  become  a  little  child 
once  more,  sir;  it's  written  in  the  Scripture,  you 
know " 

"  Amen ! "  said  Amyas,  who  felt,  to  his  o^vn 
wonder,  a  big  tear  stealing  down  each  cheek. 

"  And  now,"  he  whispered,  "  one  thing  more. 
Look  here !" — and  pulling  out  a  key,  he  unlocked  a 
chest,  and  lifted  up  tray  after  tray  of  necklaces  and 
jewels,  furs,  lawns,  cloth  of  gold.  "Look  there! 
Two  thousand  pound  won't  buy  that  chest.  Twenty 
years  have  I  been  getting  those  things  together. 
That's  the  cream  of  many  a  Levant  voyage,  and  East 
Indian  voyage,  and  West  Indian  voyage.  My  Lady 
Bath  can't  match  those  pearls  in  her  grand  house  at 
Tawstock;  I  got  'em  from  a  Genoese,  though,  and 
paid  for  'em.  Look  at  that  embroidered  lawn ! 
There's  not  such  a  piece  in  London ;  no,  nor  in  Alex- 
andria, I'll  warrant;  nor  short  of  Calicut,  where  it 
came  from.  .  .  .  Look  here  again,  there's  a  golden 
cup  !  I  bought  that  of  one  that  was  out  with  Pizarro 
in  Peru.  And  look  here,  again  ! " — and  the  old  man 
gloated  over  the  treasure. 

"  And  whom  do  you  think  I  kept  all  these  for  ? 
These  were  for  her  wedding-day — for  her  wedding- 
day.  For  your  wedding-day,  if  you'd  been  minded, 
sir !  Yes,  yours,  sir !  And  yet,  I  believe,  I  was  so 
ambitious  that  I  would  not  have  let  her  marry  under 
an  earl,  all  the  while  I  was  pretending  to  be  too  proud 
to  throw  her  at  the  head  of  a  squire's  son.  Ah  well ! 
There  was  my  idol,  sir.  I  made  her  mad,  I  pampered 
her  up  with  gewgaws  and  vanity ;  and  then,  because 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  465 

my  idol  was  just  wliat  I  had  made  her,  I  turned  again 
and  rent  her. 

"And  now,"  said  he,  pointing  to  the  open  chest, 
"  that  was  what  I  meant ;  and  that "  (pointing  to  the 
empty  bed),  "was  what  God  meant.  Never  mind. 
Come  down-stairs  and  finish  your  wine.  I  see  you 
don't  care  about  it  all.  Why  should  you !  you  are 
not  her  father,  and  you  may  thank  God  you  are  not. 
Go,  and  be  merry  while  you  can,  young  sir !  ...  . 
And  yet,  all  this  might  have  been  yours.  And — but 
I  don't  suppose  you  are  one  to  be  won  by  money — 
but  all  this  may  be  yours  still,  and  twenty  thousand 
pounds  to  boot." 

"  I  want  no  money,  sir,  but  what  I  can  earn  with 
my  own  sword." 

"Earn  my  money,  then !" 
"  What  on  earth  do  you  want  of  me  f 
"To  keep  your  oath,"  said  Salteme,  clutching  his 
arm,  and  looking  up  into   his  face  with  searching 


"  My  oath !     How  did  you  know  that  I  had  one  1" 

"  Ah  !  you  were  well  ashamed  of  it,  I  suppose,  next 
day !  A  drunken  frolic  all  about  a  poor  merchant's 
daughter!  But  there  is  nothing  hidden  that  shall 
not  be  revealed,  nor  done  in  the  closet,  that  is  not 
proclaimed  on  the  house-tops." 

"  Ashamed  of  it,  sir,  I  never  was :  but  I  have  a 
right  to  ask  how  you  came  to  know  it?" 

"What  if  a  poor  fat  squinny  rogue,  a  low-born 
fellow  even  as  I  am,  whom  you  had  baffled  and  made 
a  laughing-stock,  had  come  to  me  in  my  loneliness 
VOL.  L  2  H  w.  H. 


466  HOW  SALVATION  YEO 

and  sworn  before  God  that  if  you  honourable  gentle- 
men would  not  keep  your  words,  he  the  clown  would  ?" 

"John  Brimblecombe'?" 

"And  what  if  I  had  brought  him  where  I  have 
brought  you,  and  shown  him  what  I  have  shown  you, 
and,  instead  of  standing  as  stiff  as  any  Spaniard,  as 
you  do,  he  had  thrown  himself  on  his  knees  by  that 
bedside,  and  wept  and  prayed,  sir,  till  he  opened  my 
hard  heart  for  the  first  and  last  time,  and  I  fell 
down  on  my  sinful  knees  and  wept  and  prayed  by 
himr' 

"  I  am  not  given  to  weeping,  Mr.  Salterne,"  said 
Amy  as ;  "  and  as  for  praying,  I  don't  know  yet  what 
I  have  to  pray  for,  on  her  account :  my  business  is  to 
work.  Show  me  what  I  can  do ;  and  when  you  have 
done  that,  it  will  be  full  time  to  upbraid  me  with  not 
doing  it." 

"  You  can  cut  that  fellow's  throat." 

"It  will  take  a  long  arm  to  reach  him." 

"  I  suppose  it  is  as  easy  to  sail  to  the  Spanish  main 
as  it  was  to  sail  round  the  world." 

"  My  good  sir,"  said  Amy  as,  "  I  have  at  this  moment 
no  more  worldly  goods  than  my  clothes  and  my  sword  ; 
so  how  to  sail  to  the  Spanish  main,  I  don't  quite  see." 

"And  do  you  suppose,  sir,  that  I  should  hint  to 
you  of  such  a  voyage,  if  I  meant  you  to  be  at  the 
charge  of  it?  No,  sir,  if  you  want  two  thousand 
pounds,  or  five,  to  fit  a  ship,  take  it !  Take  it,  sir ! 
I  hoarded  money  for  my  child :  and  now  I  will  spend 
it  to  avenge  her." 

Amyas  was  silent  for  awhile;  the  old  man  still 


SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE  GUBBINGS.  467 

held  his  arm,  still  looked  up  steadfastly  and  fiercely 
in  his  face. 

"  Bring  me  home  that  man's  head,  and  take  ship, 
prizes — all !  Keep  the  gain,  sir,  and  give  me  the 
revenge ! " 

"  Gain  1  Do  you  think  I  need  bribing,  sir  ^  What 
kept  me  silent  was  the  thought  of  my  mother :  I  dare 
not  go  without  her  leave." 

Salterne  made  a  gesture  of  impatience. 

"  I  dare  not,  sir ;  I  must  obey  my  parent,  whatever 
else  I  do." 

"Humph!"  said  he.  "  If  others  had  obeyed  theirs 
as  well ! — But  you  are  right.  Captain  Leigh,  right. 
You  will  prosper,  whoever  else  does  not.  Now,  sir, 
good-night,  if  you  will  let  me  be  the  first  to  say  so. 
My  old  eyes  grow  heavy  early  now-a-days.  Perhaps 
it's  old  age,  perhaps  it's  sorrow." 

So  Amyas  departed  to  the  inn,  and  there,  to  his 
great  joy,  found  Gary  waiting  for  him,  from  whom  he 
learnt  details,  which  must  be  kept  for  another  chapter, 
and  which  I  shall  tell,  for  convenience'  sake,  in  my  own 
words  and  not  in  his. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HOW  MR.    JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE  UNDERSTOOD  THE 
NATURE  OF  AN   OATH. 

"  The  Kynge  of  Spayn  is  a  foul  payniin, 
And  lieveth  on  Mahound  ; 
And  pity  it  were  that  lady  fayre 
Should  marry  a  heathen  hoiind." —Kyng  Estmere. 

About  six  weeks  after  the  duel,  the  miller  at  Stow 
had  come  up  to  the  great  house  in  much  tribulation, 
to  borrow  the  bloodhounds.  Rose  Salterne  had 
vanished  in  the  night,  no  man  knew  whither. 

Sir  Richard  was  in  Bideford  :  but  the  old  steward 
took  on  himself  to  send  for  the  keepers,  and  down 
went  the  serving-men  to  the  Mill  with  all  the  idle  lads 
of  the  parish  at  their  heels,  thinking  a  maiden-hunt 
very  good  sport :  and  of  course  taking  a  view  of  the 
case  as  favourable  as  possible  to  Rose. 

They  reviled  the  miller  and  his  wife  roundly  for 
hard-hearted  old  heathens;  and  had  no  doubt  that 
they  had  driven  the  poor  maid  to  throw  herself  over 
cliff,  or  drown  herself  in  the  sea ;  while  all  the  women 
of  Stow,  on  the  other  hand,  were  of  unanimous  opinion 
that  the  hussy  had  "  gone  off"  with  some  bad  fellow; 
and  that  pride  was  sure  to  have  a  fall,  and  so  forth. 


HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE,  ETC.  469 

The  facts  of  the  case  were,  that  all  Rose's  trinkets 
were  left  behind,  so  that  she  had  at  least  gone  off 
honestly ;  and  nothing  seemed  to  be  missing,  but  some 
of  her  linen,  which  old  Anthony  the  steward  broadly 
hinted  was  likely  to  be  found  in  other  people's  boxes. 
The  only  trace  was  a  little  footmark  under  her  bed- 
room window.  On  that  the  bloodhound  was  laid  (of 
course  in  leash),  and  after  a  premonitory  whimper, 
lifted  up  his  mighty  voice,  and  started  bell-mouthed 
through  the  garden  gate,  and  up  the  lane,  towing 
behind  him  the  panting  keeper,  till  they  reached  the 
downs  above,  and  went  straight  away  for  Marsland- 
mouth,  where  the  whole  posse  comitatus  pulled  up 
breathless  at  the  door  of  Lucy  Passmore. 

Lucy,  as  perhaps  I  should  have  said  before,  was 
now  a  widow,  and  found  her  widowhood  not  alto- 
gether contrary  to  her  interest.  Her  augury  about 
her  old  man  had  been  fulfilled ;  he  had  never  returned 
since  the  night  on  which  he  put  to  sea  with  Eustace 
and  the  Jesuits. 

"Some  natural  tears  she  shed,  but  dried  tliem  soon  " — 
as  many  of  them,  at  least,  as  were  not  required  for 
purposes  of  business;  and  then  determined  to  pre- 
vent suspicion  by  a  bold  move;  she  started  off  to 
Stow,  and  told  Lady  Grenvile  a  most  pathetic  tale : 
how  her  husband  had  gone  out  to  pollock  fishing,  and 
never  returned :  but  how  she  had  heard  horsemen 
gallop  past  her  window  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  was 
sure  they  must  have  been  the  Jesuits,  and  that  they 
had  carried  off  her  old  man  by  main  force,  and  pro- 
bably, after  making  use  of  his  services,  had  killed  and 


470  HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE 

salted  him  down  for  provision  on  their  voyage  back 
to  the  Pope  at  Rome;  after  which  she  ended  by 
entreating  protection  against  those  "  Popish  skulkers 
up  to  Chapel,"  who  were  sworn  to  do  her  a  mischief; 
and  by  an  appeal  to  Lady  Grenvile's  sense  of  justice, 
as  to  whether  the  Queen  ought  not  to  allow  her  a 
pension,  for  having  had  her  heart's  love  turned  into  a 
sainted  martyr  by  the  hands  of  idolatrous  traitors. 

Lady  Grenvile  (who  had  a  great  opinion  of  Lucy's 
medical  skill,  and  always  sent  for  her  if  one  of  the 
children  had  a  "housty,"  ie.  sore  throat)  went  forth 
and  pleaded  the  case  before  Sir  Richard  with  such 
effect,  that  Lucy  was  on  the  whole  better  off  than 
ever  for  the  next  two  or  three  years.  But  now — 
what  had  she  to  do  with  Rose's  disappearance  1  and, 
indeed,  where  was  she  herself  ?  Her  door  was  fast ; 
and  round  it  her  flock  of  goats  stood,  crying  in  vain 
for  her  to  come  and  milk  them ;  while  from  the  down 
above,  her  donkeys,  wandering  at  their  own  sweet 
will,  answered  the  bay  of  the  bloodhound  with  a  burst 
of  harmony 

"  They'm  laughing  at  us,  keper,  they  noddies ;  sure 
enough,  we'm  lost  our  labour  here." 

But  the  bloodhound,  after  working  about  the  door 
awhile,  turned  down  the  glen,  and  never  stopped  till 
he  reached  the  margin  of  the  sea. 

"They'm  taken  water.  Let's  go  back,  and  rout 
out  the  old  witch's  house." 

"  'Tis  just  like  that  old  Lucy,  to  lock  a  poor  maid 
into  shame." 

And  returning,  they  attacked  the  cottage,  and  by 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.       471 

a  general  plebiscitum,  ransacked  the  little  dwelling, 
partly  in  indignation,  and  partly  if  the  truth  be  told, 
in  the  hope  of  plunder :  but  plunder  there  was  none. 
Lucy  had  decamped  with  all  her  movable  wealth, 
saving  the  huge  black  cat  among  the  embers,  who  at 
the  sight  of  the  bloodhound  vanished  up  the  chimney 
(some  said  with  a  strong  smell  of  brimstone),  and 
being  viewed  outside,  was  chased  into  the  woods, 
where  she  lived,  I  doubt  not,  many  happy  years,  a 
scourge  to  all  the  rabbits  of  the  glen. 

The  goats  and  donkeys  were  driven  off  up  to  Stow ; 
and  the  mob  returned,  a  little  ashamed  of  themselves 
when  their  brief  wrath  was  past ;  and  a  little  afraid, 
too,  of  what  Sir  Richard  might  say. 

He,  when  he  returned,  sold  the  donkeys  and  goats, 
and  gave  the  money  to  the  poor,  promising  to  refund 
the  same,  if  Lucy  returned  and  gave  herself  up  to 
justice.  But  Lucy  did  not  return ;  and  her  cottage, 
from  which  the  neighbours  shrank  as  from  a  haunted 
place,  remained  as  she  had  left  it,  and  crumbled  slowly 
down  to  four  fern-covered  walls,  past  which  the  little 
stream  went  murmuring  on  from  pool  to  pool — the 
only  voice,  for  many  a  year  to  come,  which  broke  the 
silence  of  that  lonely  glen. 

A  few  days  afterwards.  Sir  Richard,  on  his  way 
from  Bideford  to  Stow,  looked  in  at  Clovelly  Court, 
and  mentioned,  with  a  "by  the  by,"  news  which 
made  Will  Gary  leap  from  his  seat  almost  to  the  ceil- 
ing.    What  it  was  we  know  already. 

"And  there  is  no  duel"  asked  old  Gary;  for  his 
son  was  speechless. 


472  HOW  ME.  JOHN  BEIMBLECOMBE 

"  Only  this ;  I  hear  that  some  fellow  prowling  about 
the  cliffs  that  night,  saw  a  pinnace  running  for  Lundy." 

Will  rose,  and  went  hastily  out  of  the  room. 

In  half-an-hour,  he  and  three  or  four  armed  servants 
were  on  board  a  trawling-skifF,  and  away  to  Lundy. 
He  did  not  return  for  three  days,  and  then  brought 
news;  that  an  elderly  man,  seemingly  a  foreigner, 
had  been  lodging  for  some  months  past  in  a  part  of 
the  ruined  Moresco  Castle,  which  was  tenanted  by  one 
John  Braund  ;  that  a  few  weeks  since  a  younger  man, 
a  foreigner  also,  had  joined  him  from  on  board  a  ship  : 
the  ship  a  Flushinger,  or  Easterling  of  some  sort. 
The  ship  came  and  went  more  than  once;  and  the 
young  man  in  her.  A  few  days  since,  a  lady  and  her 
maid,  a  stout  woman,  came  with  him  up  to  the  castle, 
and  talked  with  the  elder  man  a  long  while  in  secret ; 
abode  there  all  night ;  and  then  all  three  sailed  in  the 
morning.  The  fishermen  on  the  beach  had  heard  the 
young  man  call  the  other  father.  He  was  a  very 
still  man,  much  as  a  mass-priest  might  be.  More  they 
did  not  know,  or  did  not  choose  to  know. 

Whereon,  Old  Gary  and  Sir  Eichard  sent  Will  on 
a  second  trip  with  the  parish  constable  of  Hartland 
(in  which  huge  parish,  for  its  sins,  is  situate  the  Isle 
of  Lundy,  ten  miles  out  at  sea) ;  who  returned  with 
the  body  of  the  hapless  John  Braund,  farmer,  fisher- 
man, smuggler,  etc. ;  which  worthy,  after  much  fruit- 
less examination  (wherein  examinate  was  afflicted  with 
extreme  deafness  and  loss  of  memory),  departed  to 
Exeter  gaol,  on  a  charge  of  "harbouring  priests,  Jesuits, 
gipsies,  and  other  suspect  and  traitorous  persons." 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.       473 

Poor  John  Braund,  whose  motive  for  entertaining 
the  said  ugly  customers  had  probably  been  not  treason, 
but  a  wife,  seven  children,  and  arrears  of  rent,  did 
not  thrive  under  the  change  from  the  pure  air  of 
Lundy  to  the  pestiferous  one  of  Exeter  gaol,  made 
infamous,  but  two  years  after  (if  I  recollect  right), 
by  a  "black  assizes,"  nearly  as  fatal  as  that  more 
notorious  one  at  Oxford;  for  in  it,  "whether  by  the 
stench  of  the  prisoners,  or  by  a  stream  of  foul  air," 
judge,  jury,  counsel,  and  bystanders,  numbering  among 
them  many  members  of  the  best  families  in  Devon, 
sickened  in  court,  and  died  miserably  within  a  few  days. 

John  Braund,  then,  took  the  gaol-fever  in  a  week, 
and  died  raving  in  that  noisome  den :  his  secret,  if  he 
had  one,  perished  with  him,  and  nothing  but  vague 
suspicion  was  left  as  to  Eose  Salterne's  fate.  That 
she  had  gone  off  with  the  Spaniard,  few  doubted; 
but  whither,  and  in  what  character?  On  that  last 
subject,  be  sure,  no  mercy  was  shown  to  her  by  many 
a  Bideford  dame,  who  had  hated  the  poor  girl  simply 
for  her  beauty ;  and  by  many  a  country  lady,  who  had 
"always  expected  that  the  girl  would  be  brought  to 
ruin  by  the  absurd  notice,  beyond  what  her  station 
had  a  right  to,  which  was  taken  of  her :"  while  every 
young  maiden  aspired  to  fill  the  throne  which  Eose 
had  abdicated.  So  that,  on  the  whole,  Bideford  con- 
sidered itself  as  going  on  as  well  without  poor  Eose  as 
it  had  done  with  her,  or  even  better.  And  though 
she  lingered  in  some  hearts  still  as  a  fair  dream,  the 
business  and  the  bustle  of  each  day  soon  swept  that 
dream  away,  and  her  place  knew  her  no  more. 


474  HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE 

And  Will  Gary?' 

He  was  for  awhile  like  a  man  distracted.  He 
heaped  himself  with  all  manner  of  superfluous  re- 
proaches, for  having  (as  he  said)  first  brought  the 
Rose  into  disgrace,  and  then  driven  her  into  the  arms 
of  the  Spaniard ;  while  St.  Leger,  who  was  a  sensible 
man  enough,  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  him  that  the 
fault  was  not  his  at  all :  that  the  two  must  have  been 
attached  to  each  other  long  before  the  quarrel ;  that 
it  must  have  ended  so,  sooner  or  later;  that  old 
Salteme's  harshness,  rather  than  Gary's  wrath,  had 
hastened  the  catastrophe ;  and  finally,  that  the  Rose 
and  her  fortunes  were,  now  that  she  had  eloped  with 
a  Spaniard,  not  worth  troubling  their  heads  about. 
Poor  Will  would  not  be  so  comforted.  He  wrote  ofi" 
to  Frank  at  Whitehall,  telling  him  the  whole  truth, 
calling  himself  all  fools  and  villains,  and  entreating 
Frank's  forgiveness ;  to  which  he  received  an  answer, 
in  which  Frank  said  that  Will  had  no  reason  to  accuse 
himself ;  that  these  strange  attachments  were  due  to 
a  synastria,  or  S3rmpathy  of  the  stars,  which  ruled  the 
destinies  of  each  person,  to  fight  against  which  was  to 
fight  against  the  heavens  themselves;  that  he,  as  a 
brother  of  the  Rose,  was  bound  to  believe,  nay,  to 
assert  at  the  sword's  point  if  need  were,  that  the 
incomparable  Rose  of  Torridge  could  make  none  but 
a  worthy  and  virtuous  choice ;  and  that  to  the  man 
whom  she  had  honoured  by  her  affection  was  due  on 
their  part,  Spaniard  and  Papist  though  he  might  be, 
all  friendship,  worship,  and  loyal  faith  for  evermore. 

And  honest  Will  took  it  all  for  gospel,  little  dream- 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.   475 

ing  what  agony  of  despair,  what  fearful  suspicions,  what 
bitter  prayers,  this  letter  had  cost  to  the  gentle  heart 
of  Francis  Leigh. 

He  showed  the  letter  triumphantly  to  St.  Leger ; 
and  he  was  quite  wise  enough  to  gainsay  no  word  of 
it,  at  least  aloud ;  but  quite  wise  enough,  also,  to  be- 
lieve in  secret  that  Frank  looked  on  the  matter  in 
quite  a  different  light :  however,  he  contented  himself 
with  saying, — 

"  The  man  is  an  angel  as  his  mother  is  ! "  and  there 
the  matter  dropped  for  a  few  days,  till  one  came  for- 
ward who  had  no  mind  to  let  it  drop,  and  that  was 
Jack  Brimblecombe,  now  curate  of  Hartland  town, 
and  "passing  rich  on  forty  pounds  a-year." 

"  I  hope  no  offence,  Mr.  William ;  but  when  are 
you  and  the  rest  going  after — after  her?"  The  name 
stuck  in  his  throat. 

Gary  was  taken  aback. 

"What's  that  to  thee,  Catiline  the  blood-drinker  1" 
asked  he,  trying  to  laugh  it  off. 

"  What  ?  Don't  laugh  at  me,  sir,  for  it's  no  laughing 
matter.  I  drank  that  night  nought  worse,  I  expect, 
than  red  wine.  Whatever  it  was,  we  swore  our  oaths, 
Mr.  Gary;  and  oaths  are  oaths,  say  I." 

"  Of  course.  Jack,  of  course ;  but  to  go  to  look  for 
her — and  when  we've  found  her,  cut  her  lover's  throat 
— Absurd,  Jack,  even  if  she  were  worth  looking  for, 
or  his  throat  worth  cutting.     Tut,  tut,  tut " 

But  Jack  looked  steadfastly  in  his  face,  and  after 
some  silence, 

"How  far  is  it  to  the  Garaccas,  then,  sir?" 


476  HOW  MR.  JOHN  BEIMBLECOMBE 

"  What  is  that  to  thee,  man  1" 

"  Why,  he  was  made  governor  thereof,  I  hear ;  so 
that  would  be  the  place  to  find  her?" 

"You  don't  mean  to  go  thither  to  seek  her?" 
shouted  Gary,  forcing  a  laugh. 

"  That  depends  on  whether  I  can  go,  sir ;  but  if  I 
can  scrape  the  money  together,  or  get  a  berth  on 
board  some  ship,  why,  God's  will  must  be  done." 

Will  looked  at  him,  to  see  if  he  had  been  drinking, 
or  gone  mad ;  but  the  little  pigs'  eyes  were  both  sane 
and  sober. 

Will  knew  no  answer.  To  laugh  at  the  poor  fellow 
was  easy  enough ;  to  deny  that  he  was  right,  that  he 
was  a  hero  and  cavalier,  outdoing  romance  itself  in 
faithfulness,  not  so  easy ;  and  Gary,  in  the  first  im- 
pulse, wished  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay  for  sham- 
ing him.  Of  course,  his  own  plan  of  letting  ill  alone 
was  the  rational,  prudent,  irreproachable  plan,  and 
just  what  any  gentleman  in  his  senses  would  have 
done ;  but  here  was  a  vulgar,  fat  curate,  out  of  his 
senses,  determined  not  to  let  ill  alone,  but  to  do 
something,  as  Gary  felt  in  his  heart,  of  a  far  diviner 
stamp. 

"Well,"  said  Jack,  in  his  stupid  steadfast  way, 
"  it's  a  very  bad  look-out ;  but  mother's  pretty  well 
off,  if  father  dies,  and  the  maidens  are  stout  wenches 
enough,  and  will  make  tidy  servants,  please  the  Lord. 
And  you'll  see  that  they  come  to  no  harm,  Mr.  William, 
for  old  acquaintance'  sake,  if  I  never  come  back." 

Gary  was  silent  with  amazement. 

"And,  Mr.  William,  you  know  me  for  an  honest 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.       477 

man,  I  hope.  Will  you  lend  me  a  five  pound,  and 
take  my  books  in  pawn  for  them,  just  to  help  me 
out." 

"Are  you  mad,  or  in  a  dream?  You  will  never 
find  her!" 

"  That's  no  reason  why  I  shouldn't  do  my  duty  in 
looking  for  her,  Mr.  William." 

"But,  my  good  fellow,  even  if  you  get  to  the 
Indies,  you  will  be  clapt  into  the  Inquisition,  and 
burnt  alive,  as  sure  as  your  name  is  Jack" 

"  I  know  that,"  said  he  in  a  doleful  tone ;  "  and  a 
sore  struggle  of  the  flesh  I  have  had  about  it ;  for  I 
am  a  great  coward,  Mr.  William,  a  dirty  coward,  and 
always  was,  as  you  know  :  but  maybe  the  Lord  will 
take  care  of  me,  as  He  does  of  little  children  and 
drunken  men ;  and  if  not,  Mr.  Will,  I'd  sooner  bum, 
and  have  it  over,  than  go  on  this  way  any  longer,  I 
would  !"  and  Jack  burst  out  blubbering. 

"  What  way,  my  dear  old  lad  V  said  Will,  softened, 
as  he  well  might  be. 

"Why,  not — not  to  know  whether — whether — 
whether  she's  married  to  him  or  not — her  that  I 
looked  up  to  as  an  angel  of  God,  as  pure  as  the  light 
of  day ;  and  knew  she  was  too  good  for  a  poor  pot- 
head  like  me ;  and  prayed  for  her  every  night,  God 
knows,  that  she  might  marry  a  king,  if  there  was  one 
fit  for  her — and  I  not  to  know  whether  she's  living  in 
sin  or  not,  Mr.  William. — It's  more  than  I  can  bear, 
and  there's  an  end  of  it.  And  if  she  is  married  to 
him,  they  keep  no  faith  with  heretics ;  they  can  dis- 
solve the  marriage,  or  make  away  with  her  into  the 


478  HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE 

Inquisition ;  burn  her,  Mr.  Gary,  as  soon  as  burn  "me, 
the  devils  incarnate  ! " 

Gary  shuddered ;  the  fact,  true  and  palpable  as  it 
was,  had  never  struck  him  before. 

"  Yes  !  or  make  her  deny  her  God  by  torments,  if 

she  hasn't  done  it  already  for  love  to  that I 

know  how  love  will  make  a  body  sell  his  soul,  for 
I've  been  in  love.  Don't  you  laugh  at  me,  Mr.  Will, 
or  I  shall  go  mad  ! " 

"  God  knows,  I  was  never  less  inclined  to  laugh  at 
you  in  my  life,  my  brave  old  Jack." 

"Is  it  so,  then^  Bless  you  for  that  word!"  and 
Jack  held  out  his  hand.  "  But  what  will  become  of 
my  soul,  after  my  oath,  if  I  don't  seek  her  out,  just 
to  speak  to  her,  to  warn  her,  for  God's  sake,  even  if 
it  did  no  good ;  just  to  set  before  her  the  Lord's  curse 
on  idolatry  and  Antichrist,  and  those  who  deny  Him 
for  the  sake  of  any  creature,  though  I  can't  think  He 
would  be  hard  on  her, — for  who  could  ?  But  I  must 
speak  all  the  same.  The  Lord  has  laid  the  burden  on 
me,  and  done  it  must  be.     God  help  me  ! " 

"Jack,"  said  Gary,  "if  this  is  your  duty,  it  is 
others'." 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't  say  that ;  you're  a  layman,  but  I 
am  a  deacon,  and  the  chaplain  of  you  all,  and  sworn 
to  seek  out  Ghrist's  sheep  scattered  up  and  down 
this  naughty  world,  and  that  innocent  lamb  first  of 
all." 

"You  have  sheep  at  Hartland,  Jack,  already." 

"  There's  plenty  better  than  I  will  tend  them,  when 
I  am  gone ;  but  none  that  will  tend  her,  because  none 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.       479 

love  her  like  me,  and  they  won't  venture.  Who  will? 
It  can't  be  expected,  and  no  shame  to  themf 

"I  wonder  what  Amyas  Leigh  would  say  to  all 
this,  if  he  were  at  home  f 

"  Say  1  He'd  do.  He  isn't  one  for  talking.  He'd 
go  through  fire  and  water  for  her,  you  trust  him,  Will 
Gary ;  and  call  me  an  ass  if  he  won't." 

"  Will  you  wait  then  till  he  comes  back,  and  ask 
him?" 

"  He  may  not  be  back  for  a  year  and  more." 

"Hear  reason.  Jack  If  you  will  wait  like  a 
rational  and  patient  man,  instead  of  rushing  blindfold 
on  your  ruin,  something  may  be  done." 

"You  think  so!" 

"  I  cannot  promise ;  but " 

"But  promise  me  one  thing.  Do  you  tell  Mr. 
Frank  what  I  say — or  rather,  I'll  warrant,  if  I  knew 
the  truth,  he  has  said  the  very  same  thing  himself 
already." 

"You  are  out  there,  old  man;  for  here  is  his  own 
handwriting." 

Jack  read  the  letter  and  sighed  bitterly. 

"  Well,  I  did  take  him  for  another  guess  sort  of  fine 
gentleman.  Still,  if  my  duty  isn't  his,  it's  mine  all 
the  same.     I  judge  no  man ;  but  I  go,  Mr.  Gary." 

"  But  go  you  shall  not  till  Amyas  returns.  As  I 
live,  I  will  tell  your  father.  Jack,  unless  you  promise ; 
and  you  dare  not  disobey  him." 

"I  don't  know  even  that,  for  conscience'  sake," 
said  Jack,  doubtfully. 

"  At  least,  you  stay  and  dine  here,  old  fellow,  and 


480  HOW  ME.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE 

we  will  settle  whether  you  are  to  break  the  fifth  com- 
mandment or  not,  over  good  brewed  sack." 

Now  a  good  dinner  was  (as  we  know)  what  Jack 
loved,  and  loved  too  oft  in  vain ;  so  he  submitted  for 
the  nonce,  and  Gary  thought,  ere  he  went,  that  he 
had  talked  him  pretty  well  round.  At  least  he  went 
home,  and  was  seen  no  more  for  a  week. 

But  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned,  and  said 
with  a  joyful  voice — 

"I  have  settled  all,  Mr.  Will.  The  parson  of 
Welcombe  will  serve  my  church  for  two  Sundays,  and 
I  am  away  for  London  town,  to  speak  to  Mr.  Frank." 

"  To  London  1    How  wilt  get  there  V 

"  On  Shanks  his  mare,"  said  Jack,  pointing  to  his 
bandy  legs.  "  But  I  expect  I  can  get  a  lift  on  board 
of  a  coaster  so  far  as  Bristol,  and  it's  no  way  on  to 
signify,  I  hear." 

Gary  tried  in  vain  to  dissuade  him;  and  then 
forced  on  him  a  small  loan,  with  which  away  went 
Jack,  and  Gary  heard  no  more  of  him  for  three 
weeks. 

At  last  he  walked  into  Glovelly  Gourt  again  just 
before  supper-time,  thin  and  leg-weary,  and  sat  him- 
self down  among  the  serving-men  till  Will  appeared. 

Will  took  him  up  above  the  salt,  and  made  much 
of  him  (which  indeed  the  honest  fellow  much  needed), 
and  after  supper  asked  him  in  private  how  he  had 
sped. 

"  I  have  learnt  a  lesson,  Mr.  William.  I've  learnt 
that  there  is  one  on  earth  loves  her  better  than  I,  if 
she  had  but  had  the  wit  to  have  taken  him." 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.   481 

"But  what  says  he  of  going  to  seek  herf 

"  He  says  what  I  say,  Go !  and  he  says  what  you 
say,  Wait." 

"  Go  ?  Impossible  !  How  can  that  agree  with  his 
letter f 

"That's  no  concern  of  mine.  Of  course,  being 
nearer  heaven  than  I  am,  he  sees  clearer  what  he 
should  say  and  do  than  I  can  see  for  him.  Oh,  Mr. 
Will,  that's  not  a  man,  he's  an  angel  of  God;  but 
he's  dying,  Mr.  Will." 

"Dying?" 

"Yes,  faith,  of  love  for  her.  I  can  see  it  in  his 
eyes,  and  hear  it  in  his  voice ;  but  I  am  of  tougher 
hide,  and  stiffer  clay,  and  so  you  see  I  can't  die  even 
if  I  tried.     But  I'll  obey  my  betters,  and  wait." 

And  so  Jack  went  home  to  his  parish  that  very 
evening,  weary  as  he  was,  in  spite  of  all  entreaties  to 
pass  the  night  at  Clovelly.  But  he  had  left  behind 
him  thoughts  in  Gary's  mind,  which  gave  their  owner 
no  rest  by  day  or  night,  till  the  touch  of  a  seeming 
accident  made  them  all  start  suddenly  into  shape,  as 
a  touch  of  the  freezing  water  covers  it  in  an  instant 
with  crystals  of  ice. 

He  was  lounging  (so  he  told  Amyas)  one  murky 
day  on  Bideford  quay,  when  up  came  Mr.  Salteme. 
Gary  had  shunned  him  of  late,  partly  from  delicacy, 
partly  from  dislike  of  his  supposed  hard-heartedness. 
But  this  time  they  happened  to  meet  full ;  and  Gary 
could  not  pass  without  speaking  to  him. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Salterne,  and  how  goes  on  the  shipping 
trade?" 

VOL.  I.  2  I  w.  H. 


482  HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE 

"Well  enough,  sir,  if  some  of  you  young  gentle- 
men would  but  follow  Mr.  Leigh's  example,  and  go 
forth  to  find  us  stay-at-homes  new  markets  for  our 
ware." 

"What?  you  want  to  be  rid  of  us,  eh?" 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  should,  sir.  We  shan't  cross 
each  other  now,  sir,  whatever  might  have  been  once. 
But  if  I  were  you,  I  should  be  in  the  Indies  about 
now,  if  I  were  not  fighting  the  Queen's  battles  nearer 
home." 

"  In  the  Indies  1  1  should  make  but  a  poor  hand 
of  Drake's  trade."  And  so  the  conversation  dropped ; 
but  Gary  did  not  forget  the  hint. 

"  So,  lad,  to  make  an  end  of  a  long  story,"  said  he 
to  Amy  as ;  "if  you  are  minded  to  take  the  old  man's 
oflfer,  so  am  I :  and  Westward-ho  with  you,  come  foul 
come  fair." 

"It  will  be  but  a  wild-goose  chase,  Will." 

"If  she  is  with  him,  we  shall  find  her  at  La 
Guayra.  If  she  is  not,  and  the  villain  has  cast  her 
off'  down  the  wind,  that  will  be  only  an  additional 
reason  for  making  an  example  of  him." 

"And  if  neither  of  them  are  there,  Will,  the 
Plate-fleets  will  be ;  so  it  will  be  our  own  shame  if 
we.  come  home  empty-handed.  But  will  your  father 
let  you  run  such  a  risk  V 

"My  father!"  said  Gary,  laughing.  "He  has  just 
now  so  good  hope  of  a  long  string  of  little  Garys  to 
fill  my  place,  that  he  will  be  in  no  lack  of  an  heir, 
come  what  will." 

"Little  Garys?" 


UNDERSTOOD  THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH.   483 

"I  tell  you  truth.  I  think  he  must  have  had  a 
sly  sup  of  that  fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  which 
our  friend  Don  Guzman's  grandfather  went  to  seek  in 
Florida ;  for  some  twelvemonth  since,  he  must  needs 
marry  a  tenant's  buxom  daughter;  and  Mistress 
Abishag  Jewell  has  brought  him  one  fat  baby  already. 
So  I  shall  go,  back  to  Ireland,  or  with  you :  but  some- 
where. I  can't  abide  the  thing's  squalling,  any  more 
than  I  can  seeing  Mistress  Abishag  sitting  in  my  poor 
dear  mother's  place,  and  informing  me  every  other  day 
that  she  is  come  of  an  illustrious  house,  because  she  is 
(or  is  not)  third  cousin  seven  times  removed  to  my 
father's  old  friend,  Bishop  Jewell  of  glorious  memory. 
I  had  three-parts  of  a  quarrel  with  the  dear  old  man 
the  other  day ;  for  after  one  of  her  peacock-bouts,  I 
couldn't  for  the  life  of  me  help  saying,  that  as  the 
Bishop  had  written  an  Apology  for  the  people  of 
England,  my  father  had  better  conjure  up  his  ghost 
to  write  an  apology  for  him,  and  head  it,  "Why 
green  heads  should  grow  on  gray  shoulders/  " 

"  You  impudent  villain  !  And  what  did  he  say  V 
"  Laughed  till  he  cried  again,  and  told  me  if  I  did 
not  like  it  I  might  leave  it ;  which  is  just  what  I 
intend  to  do.  Only  mind,  if  we  go,  we  must  needs 
take  Jack  Brimblecombe  with  us,  or  he  will  surely 
heave  himself  over  Harty-point,  and  his  ghost  will 
haunt  us  to  our  dying  day." 

"Jack  shall  go.     None  deserves  it  better.'* 
After  which  there  was  a  long  consultation  on  prac- 
tical matters,  and  it  was  concluded  that  Amyas  should 
go  up  to  London  and  sound  Frank  and  his  mother. 


484  HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE,  ETC. 

before  any  further  steps  were  taken.  The  other 
brethren  of  the  Eose  were  scattered  far  and  wide, 
each  at  his  post,  and  St.  Leger  had  returned  to  his 
uncle,  so  that  it  would  be  unfair  to  them,  as  well  as  a 
considerable  delay,  to  demand  of  them  any  fulfilment 
of  their  vow.  And,  as  Amyas  sagely  remarked,  "  Too 
many  cooks  spoil  the  broth,  and  half-a-dozen  gentle- 
men aboard  one  ship  are  as  bad  as  two  kings  of 
Brentford." 

With  which  maxim  he  departed  next  morning  for 
London,  leaving  Yeo  with  Gary. 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Clark,  Edinlnrgk. 


■  ISSI 


